6 Olympic triathlon contenders hoping to beat the British women
Ideally, Team GB will sweep up all three women’s medals on offer! In case that doesn’t happen, Tim Heming sizes up the rest of the ladies’ field…
Andrea Hewitt
Age 34
Lives Christchurch, New Zealand
There would be few more popular medallists than the 34-year-old from Christchurch, who has picked herself up after the tragic death of partner and triathlete Laurent Vidal and resumed a commendably long and consistent career. Hewitt was world U23 champion over a decade ago and has shown the fortitude to perform on the big stage with Grand Final success in Beijing in 2011. Barring a DNF in last year’s Test Event, she has not finished outside the top 10 in her past 27 appearances, but having not won an individual race of note for almost five years, top spot on the podium is likely to be out of reach.
2016 SEASON TO DATE
6th, Leeds WTS
4th, Yokohama WTS
3rd, Gold Coast WTS
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1st, Beijing WTS Grand Final, 2011
1st, Madrid WTS, 2009
2005 ITU World U23 Champion
Flora Duffy
Age 28
Lives Paget Parish, Bermuda
Duffy has been building her bike legs since she first started the sport aged seven. Rewarded with Xterra world titles in 2014 and 2015, she’s now enjoying the most prolific spell of her career. At 5ft 4in she punches well above her weight in keeping the race fast and honest, and will be a key ally of the British in the quest to break Jorgensen’s stronghold. It worked in the Gold Coast where she was chief protagonist alongside eventual victor Helen Jenkins on the bike. Duffy will need to use Rio’s short, sharp hill to try and break the field again, because her medal chance rests on whittling down the contenders heading into T2.
2016 SEASON TO DATE
2nd, Leeds WTS
3rd, Cape Town WTS
4th, Gold Coast WTS & Abu Dhabi WTS
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2nd, Edmonton WTS, 2015
1st, Huatulco ITU World Cup, 2012
2nd, ITU World Junior Champs, 2006
Nicola Spirig
Age 34
Lives Winkel, Switzerland
Spirig is unconventional. The reigning champion races sparingly, booked her Olympic spot by winning the inaugural European Games in Baku, and has spent the previous Olympiad becoming a mother, racing distances up to Ironman and even running marathons. Her wily coach Brett Sutton has also kept her away from favourite Jorgensen, and if all goes to plan, the first the American will see of the Swiss is when she zips past with her acclaimed bike power. A setback came when Spirig crashed out in Abu Dhabi with a fractured left hand, but expect Sutton, who watched her take Olympic glory in 2012 in a bookmakers, to have a few tricks up his sleeve.
2016 SEASON TO DATE
DNF, Abu Dhabi WTS
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2015 European Games Champion
2009 European Tri Champion
Ashleigh Gentle
Age 25
Lives Brisbane, Australia
Australia has never been off the women’s Olympic triathlon podium thanks to a wealth of talent from Sydney silver medallist Michellie Jones to Beijing champion Emma Snowsill. But it’s not the powerhouse it once was and although Olympic bronze medallists Emma Moffat and Erin Densham are on the team, both look to be fading forces. Probably the best hope then is Gentle, the 25-year-old from Brisbane who’s making her Games bow after enjoying an impressive season on the WTS circuit and has enough speed on the run to be considered an outside medal hope.
2016 SEASON TO DATE
2nd, Yokohama WTS
15th, Gold Coast WTS
2nd, Abu Dhabi WTS
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2nd, Yokohama WTS, 2015
1st, Edmonton ITU World Cup, 2011
2010 ITU World Junior Champion
Sarah True
Age 34
Lives Hanover, USA
After a strong 2015 where True made three podiums, including a win in Stockholm and booked her Olympic spot with fourth in the Test Event, this season has been a struggle. Like Spirig, True – whose husband Ben is looking to join her in Rio as a middle-distance track runner – was caught up in the bike pile-up in the opening WTS race in Abu Dhabi. She shouldn’t be underestimated though. Now 34, the display of guts she showed in the last Olympic Games, when she was dropped by the lead runners before clawing her way back and then just missing out on a medal in a sprint, shows her battling qualities.
2016 SEASON TO DATE
15th, Leeds WTS
9th, Cape Town WTS
25th, Gold Coast WTS
DNF, Abu Dhabi WTS
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1st, Stockholm WTS, 2015 & 2014
4th, Olympic Games, 2012
Gwen Jorgensen
Age 30
Lives Wisconsin, USA
There has never been a hotter favourite in Olympic triathlon than Jorgensen, but after a record-winning streak of 13 top tier races, Jorgensen will also be attacked on the bike at every opportunity. However, unlike four years ago, when as a relative newcomer she crashed on the wet roads of London, this time there is no weakness, thanks to the efforts of coach Jamie Turner and husband and former pro cyclist Patrick Lemieux. The USA’s only Olympic triathlon medal is a solitary bronze from Susan Williams in 2004, and if anyone can stop Jorgensen from climbing two steps higher they will be a worthy champion.
2016 SEASON TO DATE
2nd, Gold Coast WTS
1st, New Plymouth ITU World Cup
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2 x ITU World Champion
17 World Triathlon Series wins
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