In one of the most exciting races of the series so far, USA’s Gwen Jorgenson took gold at the WTS Hamburg on 12th July and made this her fourth win a row – holding on to the series lead in the process.
The Sprint distance event was fast-paced from the start, with Great Britain’s Helen Jenkins forming part of a lead group in the 750m swim alongside Italy’s Alice Betto who was first out of the water in 9:42 quickly followed by Brazil’s Pamela Oliveira.
The bike leg was technical, with six 3.3km laps making up the distance and including some narrow sections and bends and one sharp hairpin. The athletes soon split into two packs, with Britain’s Lucy Hall pushing the pace at the front for most of the race and eventually splitting off to get a 3 second lead before being joined by team mates Jodie Stimpson and Helen Jenkins and the rest of the pack, including Jorgenson, as they approached T2.
Into the run and it was Stimpson who initially took the lead, with Jorgenson some way back coming out of transition. That was soon to change though, as Jorgenson put in an amazing performance – storming through the field and picking off athlete after athlete until joining Stimpson at the front. She soon made a break though, leaving Stimpson in a chasing group with Australia’s Emma Jackson and Canada’s Kirsten Sweetland.
By this point there was little doubt that Gwen would take the gold, finishing the 5k in 15:46 and the race in 56:54, which left the battle for second and third. Jackson and Sweetland eventually pulled ahead of Stimpson and sprinted for the line, with Jackson taking silver.
Jorgensen said: “It was really hard – I didn’t have a great position on the bike and the run was hard too. Those girls really made me work! [The four wins] are a testament to what great support I have.”
This means Gwen Jorgenson retains her lead position in the WTS championships, with Jodie Stimpson in second.
Final results (top 10) – Elite Women
1. Gwen Jorgensen USA 00:56:54
2. Emma Jackson AUS 00:57:00
3. Kirsten Sweetland CAN 00:57:00
4. Andrea Hewitt NZL 00:57:11
5. Jodie Stimpson GBR 00:57:15
6. Annamaria Mazzetti ITL 00:57:25
7. Vicky Holland GBR 00:57:32
8. Barbara Riveros CHI 00:57:39
9. Aileen Reid IRL 00:57:4 2
10. Ashleigh Gentle AUS 00:57:45
