Between 2013 and the Rio Olympic Games, Jorgensen won 17 WTS races, a dominating streak that made her a heavy favorite to win in Rio.
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Lehmann watched Jorgensen’s London Olympics crumble as she suffered from a flat tire. “I never think you have a flawless race, it was a fun race for sure”, said Jorgensen.
The triathlon event is relatively new to the Olympics-it was first included in 2000-and Susan Williams, who took silver at the 2004 Athens Games, was the last American to medal in the sport.
American Gwen Jorgensen won the women’s triathlon at the Summer Olympics on Saturday.
Spirig Hug held on to silver while Britain’s Vicky Holland outsprinted teammate Non Stanford to win bronze. Then the enormity of what she had done, an achievement four years in the making, hit.
On the first of four laps, Jorgensen darted to the lead. All of the 2012 London Olympic medalists-Nicola Spirig (SUI), Lisa Norden (SWE) and Erin Densham (AUS)-were also part of the mix early on. By the end of the eight-lap, hilly bike course the lead off the front stood at nearly four minutes-making it clear that the three medalists would come from that lead pack. But a pack of 20 refused to be gapped.
The two took turns in the lead before Jorgensen started to accelerate on the final lap, and Spirig couldn’t keep up.
The medalists in the women’s Olympic triathlon had a twist for the podium Saturday. She soon stopped (she did not crash) and rubbed her knee.
Spirig said afterward that these Games, her fourth, would probably be her last. In 2012 she competed for the U.S. Olympic Team in London.
Coming to the end of the 3rd run lap (7.5 k) Spirig and Jorgensen had some inadvertent jostling and engaged in some mind games that resembled a test of nerves between two cyclists in a velodrome match race. This went on for a while until Jorgensen chose to break away. At one point Spirig started tacking back and forth in an attempt to throw Jorgensen off. Jorgensen seemed bemused, smiling at Spirig with puzzlement.
Just four seconds behind leader Mari Rabie of South Africa in the cycling-to-run transition, Jorgensen wasted no time in seizing the lead on the 10km closing run along fabled Copacabana beach.
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That resulted in a sprint down the home straight between Team GB’s two representatives, with the bronze medal at stake, and Holland had more left in the tank, finishing 48 seconds behind first place and five seconds behind third.
