She was the ITU (International Triathlon Union’s) Series World Champion in 2014 and 2015.
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If competitors were looking for an opening, here it was.
“Really the biggest part has been the jump from Olympic one to Olympic two where she’s just dominated the world”, said Lehmann. “And Gwen knows, she can anticipate”. “I never think you have a flawless race, it was a fun race for sure”.
Just like that Jorgensen erased the lead and surged into first in a matter of seconds. She was eighth in Beijing and sixth in London. She would cede it to 2012 Olympic champion Nicola Spirig, but it was a formality.
Starting the run in prime position, she destroyed her opponents in the style that has seen her break so many records in the sport.
Jorgensen finished the cycling portion 12th, only 1 second behind leader Lisa Norden of Sweden. We were running into the headwind and neither of us wanted to lead.
Despite the triathlon being invented by U.S.in the late 1970s, the only US athlete to get on the podium in that event until today was Susan Williams at the 2004 Athens Games, Team USA said, when she got the bronze medal.
What made the Brownlee’s crushing display even more impressive was the fact that they have both come back from serious injury in the last 12 months, with Alistair saying after his Rio win that he had to “go through hell” to get here and was in pain every day. “My aim is for a strong swim and then bike as hard as I can to dampen some of the speed from the pure runners”.
She appeared no less happy with silver on this occasion, nor indeed should she.
However, despite occasional digs by her chief rivals on the main climb on the eight-lap 40km course, the American sat in looking comfortable and nobody seemed prepared to put it on the line to push the pace.
After a choppy sea swim off Copacabana Beach a group of 18 quickly formed on the bike leg and everyone in the field knew that if Jorgensen remained in that pack going into the run it would be next to impossible to beat her.
She covered her mouth with her hand to hold back the tears, making it across the finish line before she began sobbing. “I did that four years ago”.
While triathlon names such as Mark Allen and Dave Scott pricked the American public consciousness through their prodigious achievements at the Hawaii Ironman in the 1980s and 1990s, the shorter version of the sport has always been something of a niche attraction.
But a flat tire resulted in a disappointing 38th-place finish. During Maura’s high school visit to the university, Zaferes offered to house the soon-to-be incoming freshman during her senior year. Lemieux gave up his career as a professional cyclist and now handles everything for Jorgensen but the racing.
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“I said, “I’ve already got a medal”, Spirig said. Jorgensen – who won a test event over the course previous year – powered through it, making up ground.
