It meant that Great Britain’ claimed three of the six medals on offer in Rio, the first time one National Olympic Committee has claimed that numerous medals on offer.
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Triathlon has totally embraced the Olympics from the day it was accepted back in the 1990s, even renaming its then “standard” 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run “Olympic Distance”.
Adding to the drama: Transition periods factor into the overall race time. Athletes must train to mount their bikes and slip into their shoes as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Nearly immediately after the PA announced “On your marks”, the horn blared and 55 athletes dove into the ocean.
A number of triathletes swapped leads while biking.
On the course where she also won the Olympic qualifying race a year ago, Jorgensen used her superior hill climbing skills to make up a 12-second deficit coming out of the water, surpassing nearly all of the 22 racers who’d been faster getting ashore in choppy water.
Routier, who made her Olympic debut in Rio, was the first to hit the beach in 19:01.
“Right now I’m just trying to enjoy this moment”, she said. The American apparently suffered a leg injury while swimming, causing her to withdraw from the competition in the middle of the second section. Despite the tough climbs and curvy roads, the athletes kept in a consistent formation.
“That’s the most fantastic thing because she was very clear”.
True just missed out on a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics, finishing in fourth. She also posted the highest finish ever for a South American triathlete at the Olympics.
The women’s race took place on a cooler Saturday. After the sixth of the eight laps, she was in the lead.
By the end of the bike leg, it looked as though any of 18 triathletes could earn a medal. Sweden’s Lisa Norden ended that portion before anyone else in 1:21:28. Jorgensen, also just a second off of Norden, was in 12th place. “‘I know if give an inch, they’re going to try and take a mile.’ She knew that was coming”. The two literally ran side by side for much of the first couple laps, until Jorgensen pulled away to finish the race.
After the first lap Jorgensen and Spirig extended their lead to 16 seconds over the four-woman chase group of Holland, Stanford, Riveros and Moffatt. It was Great Britain’s fifth medal in Olympic triathlon, but their first in the women’s event – the other four belong to the Brownlee brothers.
Spirig slowed down in attempt to force Jorgensen to exert more energy; Jorgensen reacted by slowing down and nearly insisted Spirig stay in front. Taking turns they hammered out the pace, but Jorgensen stuck on the back of the field and by the end of the second lap was ensconced firmly in the lead group.
Just before 1:51, Jorgensen blasted past Spirig by a wide margin. The second one which she started in the transition area, lasted slightly longer but until the start of the hill, when Duffy moved to close the gap.
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Jorgensen finished the race, which consisted of a 1.5 kilometer swim, a 40-kilometer bike ride, and 10-kilometer run, in 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 16 seconds, 40 seconds faster than silver medalist Nicola Spirig of Norway. She began to weep as she held the banner over her head.
