The World Cup tour moved to
Tongyeong, South Korea, earlier this morning where the world’s best athletes
battled it out in a challenging sprint-distance race format. 53 Elite women
lined along the beautiful South Sea for the 2023 World Triathlon Cup Tongyeong.
Olympic champion Gwen Jorgensen wins
World Cup gold after a spectacular run showdown in Tongyeong. Japan’s Yuko
Takahashi delivers an impressive performance to hang onto World Cup silver and
Czech Republic’s Tereza Zimovjanova earns a career best bronze medal.
Yuko Takahashi was wearing number 1
in today’s World Cup in Tongyeong and the Japanese athlete led the women’s
field through the 750m swim with Hungary’s Zsanett Bragmayer, Belgium’s Claire
Michel and Cambodia’s Margot Garabedian hot on her heels.
Takahashi, Bragmayer, Michel, Great
Britain’s Hollie Elliot, Spain’s Cecilia Santamaria Surroca, Japan’s Sarika
Nakayama and Canada’s Sophia Howell were the first women through transition and
onto the 20km bike course.
USA’s Gwen Jorgensen and Great
Britain’s Vicky Holland were 25-seconds down on the leaders, coming out of the
water.
On the first lap of the bike, an
initial group of 4 women led which quickly swelled to a lead group of 7. All
leaders were taking turns in the front seat and working hard to maintain the
gap that they had over the chase group.
A strong group of 13 women was in the
chase group which included USA’s Erika Ackerlund, New Zealand’s Ainsley Thorpe,
Szofia Kovács and Jorgensen, who had ridden her way up from the next group.
Olympic medallist and new mother
Vicky Holland, who returned to racing this month after only giving birth in
January this year, hadn’t stuck with the leaders and was riding 25 seconds
down.
By the second lap on the bike, the
chase group had joined the leaders to form a group of 18 who continued to push
the tempo out in front. This group now included the likes of Bragymayer,
Kovács, Slovakia’s Romana Gajdošová, South Africa’s Shanae Williams, Thorpe,
Czech Republic’s Tereza Zimovjanova, Michel, Takahashi and Jorgensen. The group
featured some seriously strong running talent which would come into play on the
next segment of the race.
The gap had now extended to 34
seconds to the large group of chasing athletes, who were not getting up on the
wheels of the leading 18.
Claire Michel and Yuko Takahashi,
training partners, looked fantastic as they exchanged the lead and continued to
open up the lead. Jorgensen took her turn out in front and put a lot of effort
on the bike.
By the final bike lap the leader’s
advantage was now 36 seconds and it came down to positioning as the women
entered their final transition of the day.
Bragmayer, Takahashi, Michel were the
fastest through transition. Jorgensen seemed to have some trouble with the
switch which delayed her leaving transition and onto the run.
Zimovjanova took it out hard as she
took charge of the opening stage of the 5km run. Takahashi was running I
second, going with her own tempo. Thorpe was right there with Kovács running in
fourth.
The pace was firing across the sprint
distance run course and the field was scattered as the leaders were stretching
it out front. Elliot, Michel and Jorgensen started to wind it up and apply
pressure as they were now running in third and fourth.
Takahashi took over the lead and then
it was Jorgensen who surged right to the front, showing the world her
masterclass running ability. Zimovjanova was not letting go and held right to
the front.
Jorgensen powered ahead and in true
form, ran away with victory, earning the gold medal today in the 2023 World
Triathlon Cup Tongyeong in a winning time of 00:58:16. A master class display
by the Rio 2016 Olympic champion who has come back to triathlon racing after
having two sons.
“You know I was happy to get up to
the front, I had a few mistakes today so I’m not really thrilled with my
process today, but I’m always happy to come over to the win. I had pre-run this
course a few times and so I kind of knew what the angles to take and how to
kind of take the best line and so I was really trying to just work my way up. I
feel like I had a horrible swim I’m really disappointed with my swim today and
then on the bike it was a little bit of like all the way on or totally easy and
then we got a transition and I my hands were so cold I couldn’t get on my shoes
and I just felt like it was a pretty crazy so for me I tried to stay in the
moment, tried to stay present and just worked my way up.
“Like I said I wasn’t thrilled with
my swim in my transition but you know to feel the comeback and when I guess
after that, it is exciting and you know I’m just trying to set myself up so
that next year I can put myself in position to qualify for the Olympics,” said
gold medallist Jorgensen
Takahashi, who has recently been
crowned 2023 Asian Games champion and earned the National title in Japan last
week, showcased incredible form across all aspects of today’s race and ran
across the line to claim the silver medal in Tongyeong.
“It’s been a while since my last time
on the podium, World Cup podium was actually in 2015 in here, Tongyeong so I am
really happy to be on the podium again,” said silver medallist Takahashi.
A delighted Zimovjanova crossed the
line, elated with her performance, to be awarded her first World Cup medal and
bronze today.
“Honestly, I was really, really
surprised on the run, I was still waiting for someone to pass me and I was
like, there’s no way I am going to be on the podium and then yes, I’m just
really really happy,” said bronze medallist Zimovjanova.
Review the full results.
https://triathlon.org/results/result/2023_world_triathlon_cup_tongyeong/582890
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