Image Courtesy of Janos Schmidt/ITU
The Men
The WTS came to London this year for a spring distance affair. It was a very fast wetsuit-legal swim for the 70 professional men racing in the 2015 ITU World Triathlon London sprint distance event. The crowds gathering in Hyde Park in London had not problem keeping cool with low temperatures resulting in a wetsuit legal swim. Not surprisingly, two Huubsters, Henri Schoeman and Richard Varga led the 750-kilometre swim..
Less than a hundred meters into the bike, one of the heavy race favorites, Johnny Browlee, had a mechanical issue. According to race announcer, Barrie Shepley, he had to get a new wheel. He spent the first (half) of the bike working his way back to the front without much help. Toward the end of the bike leg, he did get some help from fellow countryman Thomas Bishop. He never did make it back to the main packs.
Meanwhile, Alistair Brownlee was pushing the front group containing the likes of Aaron Royle and Vincent Luis. Sprint distance standouts Mario Mola and Richard Murray also missed the first group and were forced to start from a 40 second deficit on the two-lap run.
Image Courtesy of Janos Schmidt/ITU
Luis and Brownlee continued their quest for a podium as they took the top spot early on, but Alistair started to slowly pull away at the halfwar point, eventually building an insurmountable gap. With two medals still up for grabs, the last lap of the run saw a battle between Fernando Alarza, Luis and Ryan Baile all pushing til the end. In the end, Alarza and Luis who were able to exert a last-minute effort to take home the silver and bronze.
Despite his absence, Javier Gomez Noya maintained his Columbia Threadneedle leader position in the rankings after winning his first WTS race in Yokohama, Japan on May 16.
| Pos | First Name | Last Name | Country | Time | Swim | T1 | Bike | T2 | Run | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alistair | Brownlee | GBR |  |
00:50:39 | 00:08:41 | 00:00:49 | 00:26:11 | 00:00:28 | 00:14:32 |
| 2 | Fernando | Alarza | ESP |  |
00:50:51 | 00:08:49 | 00:00:42 | 00:26:11 | 00:00:29 | 00:14:43 |
| 3 | Vincent | Luis | FRA |  |
00:50:57 | 00:08:47 | 00:00:40 | 00:26:14 | 00:00:29 | 00:14:50 |
| 4 | Ryan | Bailie | AUS |  |
00:50:58 | 00:08:42 | 00:00:42 | 00:26:18 | 00:00:27 | 00:14:51 |
| 5 | Richard | Murray | RSA |  |
00:51:01 | 00:09:21 | 00:00:43 | 00:26:18 | 00:00:29 | 00:14:12 |
| 6 | Dorian | Coninx | FRA | |
00:51:06 | 00:08:45 | 00:00:43 | 00:26:14 | 00:00:28 | 00:14:58 |
| 7 | Henri | Schoeman | RSA | |
00:51:08 | 00:08:34 | 00:00:45 | 00:26:24 | 00:00:30 | 00:14:58 |
| 8 | Tony | Dodds | NZL |  |
00:51:10 | 00:08:43 | 00:00:42 | 00:26:17 | 00:00:28 | 00:15:03 |
| 9 | Justus | Nieschlag | GER |  |
00:51:12 | 00:08:52 | 00:00:42 | 00:26:07 | 00:00:27 | 00:15:06 |
| 10 | Tyler | Mislawchuk | CAN |  |
00:51:14 | 00:08:54 | 00:00:43 | 00:26:05 | 00:00:29 | 00:15:05 |
The Women
Image Courtesy of Janos Schmidt/ITU
In the women’s race, rockstars Gwen Jorgensen, Katie Zaferes and Sarah True swept the field for the second time this year. Despite suffering from the flu this week and sounding congested in the post-race interview, Jorgensen took home her 10th straight WTS win.
“We have a little bit of an American steam roller action going on, but every federation has its flows. The British have been on top of the world and the Aussies, but right now it is a pretty exciting moment for the US,” said Sarah True.
How did it happen? Carolina Routier was the first woman out of the water followed closely by all of the top US women including Zaferes, Groff and Jorgensen. They formed a breakaway group along with Margit Vanek, Sophie Coldwell and Ainhoa Murua and put 30 seconds into the chase that included nearly 30 women. Although the chase contained talented cyclists like Andrea Hewitt and Barbara Riveros, the large train of women couldn’t manage to chip away at the 30-second deficit.
Great Britain’s Vicky Holland hammered away in the chase, and teammate Non Stanford, who won the World Championship title on this course two years ago bell back into the second chase. She couldn’t recover in time to threaten on the run.
Once they hit the run course, the three US women took the lead running stride for stride. Eventually (but more slowly than usual) Jorgensen left her teammates behind to secure the win. Zaferes and True ran side-by-side in a battle for who would take the next medal. As they made the sharp left hand turn onto the carpet, Zaferes made the pass to take second prize (a set of steak knives). Closing a once substantial gap, Holland and Aileen Reed threw out a phenomenal run and were able to finish at fourth and fifth respectably.
Image Courtesy of Janos Schmidt/ITU
| Pos | First Name | Last Name | Country | Time | Swim | T1 | Bike | T2 | Run | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gwen | Jorgensen | USA |  |
00:55:45 | 00:28:56 | 00:00:44 | 00:16:00 | ||
| 2 | Katie | Zaferes | USA | |
00:56:06 | 00:28:56 | 00:00:33 | 00:16:32 | ||
| 3 | Sarah | True | USA | |
00:56:07 | 00:09:22 | 00:00:45 | 00:28:56 | 00:00:33 | 00:16:33 |
| 4 | Aileen | Reid | IRL |  |
00:56:25 | 00:09:48 | 00:00:53 | 00:28:45 | 00:00:35 | 00:16:26 |
| 5 | Vicky | Holland | GBR | |
00:56:28 | 00:10:02 | 00:00:44 | 00:28:41 | 00:00:34 | 00:16:30 |
| 6 | Andrea | Hewitt | NZL | |
00:56:31 | 00:09:55 | 00:00:48 | 00:28:43 | 00:00:34 | 00:16:32 |
| 7 | Barbara | Riveros | CHI |  |
00:56:32 | 00:10:02 | 00:00:51 | 00:28:34 | 00:00:36 | 00:16:31 |
| 8 | Paula | Findlay | CAN | |
00:56:32 | 00:10:01 | 00:00:50 | 00:28:36 | 00:00:31 | 00:16:37 |
| 9 | Amelie | Kretz | CAN | |
00:56:33 | |||||
| 10 | Sophia | Saller | GER | |
00:56:33 | 00:10:02 | 00:00:54 | 00:28:29 | 00:00:34 | 00:16:36 |
