To see what it takes for Jorgensen to maintain her dominant form and top ranking, check out the infographic below.
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That result saw Hewitt, fourth overall heading into the double points finale, leapfrog past Americans Sarah True and Katie Zaferes for her fifth year-end podium in the last seven years.
Jorgensen was in the lead group after the 1500m swim (five seconds behind) and the 40km bike (also five seconds behind) but did not crush the run as hard as normal. But it was in the run where Jorgensen differentiated herself as is usually the case.
Jorgensen finished in 1:55:36 over Great Britain’s Non Stanford (+29 seconds) and Vicky Holland (+44 seconds). “Non was leading a lot of the run, and I was just trying to stick with her”. When I made the move, it just felt right. Hewitt was fourth Friday.
“You can expect it, and everyone expects it. Myself and Non did feel like she was going to go, but at the same time, you don’t know how she was actually feeling”, Holland said.
After nine thrilling ITU World Triathlon Series races this year, the men’s and women’s elite World Championship titles will be decided in heated battles this week at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago.
“I didn’t know where Katie was because she was at the back on the bike and then obviously she didn’t have such a great race”. “This was the sort of course that will sap your legs”.
“In hindsight, I had no idea what I was thinking”, True said. True missed the medals by one spot in 2012 with her fourth place finish. “If she was feeling that little bit off, maybe she wasn’t going to have that surge”.
The Grand Final is the final race in the World Triathlon Series, with athletes accumulating points that count towards Olympic qualification.
Jorgensen and another London Olympian, Sarah True, became the first two of a maximum three women to make the 2016 U.S. Olympic triathlon team with first- and fourth-place finishes in an Olympic test event in Rio on August 2. The final race of the four-day Grand Final, Spaniards Javier Gomez Noya and Mario Mola will line up as the men to beat, followed by France’s Vincent Luis and South Africa’s Richard Murray on Saturday in Chicago.
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In Rio, Jorgensen, True and perhaps Zaferes will look to join Susan Williams, who took bronze at Athens 2004, as U.S. Olympic triathlon medalists.
