From absolute beginner to London-bound
In 2½ years, Jorgensen rises to triathlon’s elite
Most Olympic athletes spend much of their lives mastering every little part of their sport in the hope of making it to the Games. Gwen Jorgensen will go to London competing in a sport she took up 2½ years ago.
She competed in track, cross country and swimming at the University of Wisconsin. After graduating, she was recruited by USA Triathlon.
Jorgensen finished eighth in her first competitive triathlon, in March 2010 in Clermont, Fla., and was named USA Triathlon’s rookie of the year. In 2011, she finished second in the London test event to qualify for the Olympics.
Taking a leave of absence from her job as an accountant at Ernst & Young in Milwaukee, the 26-year-old trained in St. Paul and Clermont to get ready for the Olympics. In London, the women’s triathlon (1,500-meter swim, 43-kilometer bike ride, 10K run) will be held Aug. 4.
It was something I didn’t really want to do. . . . When I thought of triathlon, I thought of Ironman (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run), and that wasn’t really something that interested me.
I was very hesitant, but they helped me get a coach, helped me get a bike, and (USA Triathlon recruiter Barb Lindquist) said, “You can try this. If you don’t like it, then no pressure and no questions asked. You can stop doing it.” But I started doing it, and I fell in love with it.
My first time on the bike was after I graduated college, and I was tipping over constantly.
Even after I qualified (for the Olympics), it was still surreal, something I didn’t think I could do.
It took me awhile to actually realize it. It was something that, honestly, was a little bit overwhelming. I wasn’t expecting it.
(The Olympic venue) is one of the least technical races I’ve done. It’s big, sweeping corners on the bike, and it’s flat — not hilly at all. . . . There are not 180s. There are not any sharp corners, not a lot of tricky turns.
I started my leave of absence at the beginning of the year. . . . My bosses were completely in support, 100%.
It was hard for me, because I love working at Ernst & Young. I love the people there. I love going into work. It was more difficult because I didn’t want to stop doing something that I loved. I knew they would be supportive of me, and so that never was an issue.
(Starts are) very physical. I always tell a story: We had one of (the) USA guys that went into the water and came out and he was bleeding. He had a concussion; he had to get stitches. It was just brutal. I’ve never experienced something that bad, but you always feel like you’re getting swam on top of. You feel like people are punching you.
The first couple of races I let it get to me and I wasted a lot of energy just focusing on that, so now I know it’s going to happen and let it happen. I practice for it. I have people swim on top of me so I can experience it and know what to do when it happens.
When you’re in a race, you’re just focused on your race. And outside of the race, everyone is super friendly, and that’s kind of what I love about triathlon. It’s this huge family community.