Jorgensen big favourite in women’s triathlon

NEW YORK: Gwen Jorgensen (pic), the first American to win back-to-back world triathlon titles, could have been an accountant.

She gave up on her Olympic dream as a teenager when she realised she couldn’t swim fast enough and decided she’d go to college.

She spent three years on the swim team at Wisconsin, where she was an All-American and Big Ten track champion, and would parlay her master’s degree and CPA into a job at Ernst & Young upon graduation.

Then she got a call from Barb Lindquist, at one time the world’s top-ranked triathlete and a former Olympian. She told Jorgensen that she, too, could be a world-class triathlete if she took up biking and dedicated herself to the sport.

Jorgensen thought back to her childhood dreams of being the next Amy Van Dyken or Brooke Bennett.

“I was glued to the TV when they had Olympic trials on like they have now. It was just something that I really loved,” Jorgensen said.

“But I came to the realisation at a relatively young age, in high school, that I would never go to the Olympics in swimming. I just wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t making any national teams. I wasn’t even making junior national teams.

“So, I just thought I would never be an Olympian. And then when the USA Triathlon approached me, one of the first things they said was, ‘You could be an Olympian’. And I was shocked. I basically laughed at them. I said, ‘No, I tried than when I was younger and I basically don’t have what it takes’.”

She gave it a shot in 2010 and realised Lindquist was right, she was a natural and her Olympic dream was back – even if triathlon as a sport wasn’t that familiar to her. But she was hooked in no time and a few years later qualified for the London Games, where she was a favourite. That’s where the wheel came off. A flat tire doomed her to a 38th-place finish and fed her fire to make amends in Rio de Janeiro.

“Every race is completely different and that’s something that I like about the sport, you go into the triathlon and you have no idea what could happen on race day and you have to be prepared for anything, which I think really makes it a hard race,” Jorgensen said.

Throw in the massive hype, crowds and logistics at the Olympics and it’s even more unpredictable.

“Every race is different and the Olympics are more different,” said Jorgensen, who is a heavy favourite in the women’s race on Aug 20 at Copa Cabana Beach, where the men’s race will be held on Aug 18.

Jorgensen, who’s from Waukesha, Wisconsin, has 17 career wins and 21 medals on the ITU World Triathlon Series circuit. The sport’s twotime defending world champion, she had an unprecedented unbeaten streak stretching from May 2014 to April 2016 that produced a dozen consecutive first-placed finishes.

To ensure maximum energy and optimal condition for Brazil, Jorgensen eased up on her competition schedule this year and participated in races that were closer to her training base in Victoria-Gasteiz, Spain.

“I have one goal this year and that is the Rio Olympics on Aug 20,” Jorgensen declared. — AP