Javier Gomez continued his current winning streak by taking gold in the Beijing International Triathlon today, while Sweden's Lisa Norden won the women's race.
Lining up against a decorated field that included fellow Spaniard Mario Mola (bronze medal winner at the ITU World Champs last weekend) and three-time Ironman 70.3 UK champion Fraser Cartmell (GBR), Gomez covered the 1.5km swim/40km bike/10km run in 1:51:59, followed by Greg Bennett (AUS) and Brian Fleishmann (USA).
“I felt good and knew I was fit after winning the London Triathlon, but the Beijing International Triathlon is a totally different race, race course and field of competitors,” said Gomez. “I came out of the swim first, and then Greg Bennett caught me at about 10 kilometers in on the bike.
"He is an amazing triathlete and I stayed close to him, knowing I would be strong in the run. I was excited for the run, it was a technical tough run with lots of stairs and ups and downs, so that is when I was able to pull ahead and build my lead. It was a really great race and I look forward to coming back to Beijing next year.”
Norden posted a time of 2:05:12 for the demanding course, which included a bike leg up Southwest Beijing's highest peak (700m high), with Sarah Groff (USA) and Jenna Parker (USA) rounding out the podium for the women.
To watch our recent video interview with Javier Gomez following his win over Jonathan Brownlee at the ITU World Championships in London, click here