Gwen Jorgensen returns to racing with podium finish in Taupo
Four months after birth of her second child the gold medalist launches her comeback in style
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World Triathlon
American Gwen Jorgensen announced last December that she would be returning to triathlon with her sights set on competing at the Olympics in Paris next year. She admitted at the time that it was going to be a tough challenge, but it’s hard to imagine she figured she’d be in race form this soon. This weekend her comeback began, just four months after the birth of George (the younger brother to Stanley), with an impressive third-place finish at the Oceania Triathlon Cup Taupo.
“I didn’t really know what to expect and so I went out there and a big saying of mine this year is ‘play over perfection’ and I think I definitely executed on that,” Jorgensen told World Triathlon after the race. “I had a ton of fun out there. It was not perfect by any means … I felt the competition was pretty good and kept me on my toes for sure.”
“I had a hard time in the swim, I haven’t swum that much and I haven’t been in open water with other people,” she continued. “I would have liked to come out first … I actually felt super strong on the bike. The run was beautiful along Lake Taupo. I just didn’t have another gear, I couldn’t run any faster, and had some pretty slow transitions, but I came out and was just trying to chase down the leaders and could never catch.”
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New Zealand’s Nicole Van der Kaay took the win, as she did at the Oceania Triathlon Cup Wanaka last weekend. Another Kiwi, Ainsley Thorpe, took second.
Spain’s David Castro Fajardo won the men’s race ahead of New Zealand’s Janus Staufenberg and Australian Luke Willian.
You can find full results here.
