“Aug. 20. I wanted to cross that line, I wanted to get a gold medal”.
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In a post-race interview, Jorgensen told reporters Spirig reminded her, “I have a gold medal and you don’t”.
Switzerland’s Spirig-Hug, who has had a baby since her photo-finish victory in London, held on to take silver and become the first woman to win two Olympic medals in the sport.
Zaferes finished 18th, 4:39 behind teammate Jorgensen.
That was 40 seconds ahead of silver medalist Nicola Spirig of Switzerland, who won gold at the 2012 Games after Jorgensen’s flat tire relegated her to a 38th-place finish.
Routier, who made her Olympic debut in Rio, was the first to hit the beach in 19:01.
“I keep crying for some reason”, she said afterward. She had a son, born in 2013, (with fellow Olympic triathlete husband Reto Hug), and then returned to racing.
The win caps the most dominant stretch in triathlon history by Jorgensen, who has won all but two individual races since April 2014. But after a couple of laps around the circuit, Jorgensen moved up among the leaders. And she also finished well, earning gold by crossing the finish line in 1:56:16. “So, we have her to thank”.
“She worked as hard as she could to test Gwen”, he said. Gwen had a much lower finish. “I think maybe that would have hurt Gwen more”. It kicks off with a 1.5km swim (approximately.93 of a mile), followed by 40km of biking (approximately 24.8 miles), and ending with a 10km run (approximately 6.2 miles). That’s a tough thing to think about but at the same time I’ll be eternally grateful to Non. “I’ve now got one – and she’s got two”. “I’m just really happy after everything we’ve done after this past four years”, said Jorgensen. “It would have been nice to have a breakaway, but my goal was for all the girls to come off the bike with exhausted legs”.
She predicted the eight-lap bike course would be “a breaking point” in the race, because of a cruel hill that had to be crested over and over. “I wanted them to get off the bike, everyone with exhausted legs, because I’m convinced I’m one of the strongest runners running with exhausted legs, and as you see, I was right”.
“Nicola and I were playing a few games”, Jorgensen said.
The Rio Olympic course has been described as “highly technical”, with an open water swim giving way to a windy, hilly road.
The 30-year-old American credited her part-time training regime since 2012 with Australian coach Jamie Turner and the Wollongong Wizards for sharpening her form.
Jorgensen did not seem to be enjoying the head-to-head but removed herself from it with an injection of pace at the 8km mark that immediately took her clear and allowed her to enjoy her run up the finishing chute with a beaming smile. “But I have zero plays for August 21st, so wait and find out”.
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“It was very different from the test event”.
