Team America: Jorgensen storms WTS London

Nobody could stop Gwen Jorgensen from claiming her 10^th World Triathlon Series title in Hyde Park, as she stormed ahead early on in the run to cross the line with considerable time to spare.

There was plenty of jostling in the swim and the field spread out quickly. Carolina Routier (ESP) led out of the water, emerging after a shade over 9 mins. Sophie Coldwell was the first Brit into T2, leaving experienced WTS racers Non Stanford and Vicky Holland trailing. As testament to the hectic swim, a number of athletes including Jorgensen lost their timing chips

It was a blistering start to Coldwell’s WTS debut, as she made it into the top group of eight on the bike. Gwen Jorgenson was also in there along with fellow Americans Sarah True and Katie Zaferes, increasing the chances of a 1-2-3 for the USA early on.

Stanford’s hopes of catching up were all but over after lap 1 of the bike, as the gap to the top group continued to grow.

The top pack of 7 held on all the way to the end of the bike leg, with Margrit Venek (HUN) and Gillian Blackhouse (AUS) joining Routier, Jorgensen, Zaferes, True and the inspired Sophie Coldwell.

Coldwell had a perfect T2 and led out onto the run, but the Americans quickly took over and Jorgenson, True and Zaferes formed a top three in the first kilometre.

As Cauldwell faded Vicky Holland gritted her teeth and quickly moved past, going into the top four after 2km.

At the front Jorgensen also made her move around 2km in, establishing a strong lead that continued to grow through the halfway point – it then became a case of the margin of Jorgensen’s victory rather than who was going to win.

Jorgensen crossed the finish line in 55:45, with Zaferes winning the battle for 2^nd over True and finishing 21 secs later. Aileen Reid (IRL) continued her strong season with a 4^th place finish, overtaking Holland in the closing stages of the run.

It was a true day of dominance for team USA, who now occupy all three places on the podium in the overall standings.

Image: Ross Grieve/DGT

Has Gwen Jorgensen established herself as the greatest female triathlete of all time? Let us know in the comments!

Liz Barrett 220 Deputy Editor

About

220 deputy editor Liz Barrett started work on the magazine in 2007 as staff writer. Since then, she’s reported live from almost every major triathlon across the globe, including the Ironman World Championships, 70.3 Worlds, six ITU Worlds, Challenge Roth, the 2014 and 2022 Commonwealths, the London and Paris Olympics and the Rio Paralympics, to name but a few. Name a pro and chances are she’ll have interviewed them, so, unsurprisingly, she’s our go-to pro-athlete expert on the team. When not covering races, you’ll find her whipping words into finely-crafted shape for both the magazine and website.