Gwen Jorgensen, the 30 year-old American and already utterly dominant in the event, controlled the run as expected, breaking clear towards the end of the 10km run to win by 40 seconds from Nicola Spirig from Switzerland – the gold medal victor in London four years ago.
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“Every race is completely different and that’s something I like about this sport”, Jorgensen says. This might play into the hands of Britain’s two-time World Champion Helen Jenkins, who is good in the water and, along with reigning Olympic champion Nicola Spirig, is among the strongest on the bike. “Once a week, I get out in a parking lot and practice putting on my shoes, hopping on my bike, and doing the little things you do in a race”.
But Jorgensen suddenly turned it on over the last 1.5 kilometers to win gold with a time of 1:56.16.
Gwen Jorgensen of United States on her way to victory during the ITU World Triathlon on June 12, 2016.in Leeds, England.
Barbara Riveros of Chile took 5th, 1:13 behind the victor and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Emma Moffatt of Australia was 6th, 26 back of Riveros.
Spirig was just ahead of Jorgensen at the start of the second lap, and about 20 seconds ahead of British triathletes Vicky Holland and Non Stanford.
The two exchanged polite words several times during the next-to-last lap around the course, apparently talking about who would take the lead.
At around the 47 minute mark and well into the bike leg, Sarah True crashed.
True just missed out on a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics, finishing in fourth.
Both Jorgensen and Spirig made smooth transitions between the triathlon’s phases, which helped them stay clear of the rest of the race. Within just a minute, South Africa’s Mari Rabie took the lead.
Jorgensen placed 38th in the 2012 London Games but has been on a roll ever since. At one point Spirig started tacking back and forth in an attempt to throw Jorgensen off.
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.
Her time was 1:56.16.
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Spirig hung tough for silver and Holland edged away from her roomie Stanford for the bronze.
