Olympic Distance, Women

It was Katie Zaferes of the USA who went to Rio having won the last World Series event in Hamburg prior to the Games but the series had been dominated by her US team-mate Gwen Jorgensen who won the event in Yokohama and Leeds. Jorgensen also came into the Games as the 2014 and 2015 World Triathlon Series champion and between April 2014 and April 2016 had enjoyed a run of 17 consecutive wins and was a clear favorite to lift gold in Rio.

However, the reigning European Games champion, Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig Hug was out to thwart the American pair and retain the Olympic title she won at London 2012. The other two London medalists, Lisa Nordén, Sweden (silver) and Erin Densham, Australia (bronze) were also in the Rio field and were medal contenders.

South Africa’s Mari Rabie held a slender one second lead after the opening swim, and after the transition following the cycle ride, she had increased it to two seconds but with Nicola Spirig and Gwen Jorgensen within four seconds of her, she knew that lead would soon disappear once they hit the road, and it did. After being virtually neck-and-neck with Jorgensen throughout the competition, Spirig knew that her rivals strongest discipline was the run and that is where the title was eventually decided when the American pulled away on the fourth and final lap of the 10km run to win by a massive 40 seconds, the second biggest winning margin after Emma Snowsill’s win by just over one minute at Beijing in 2008.

In the sprint to the finish for the bronze medal, Vicky Holland won a first medal for Great Britain’s women, edging out her friend, training partner, team-mate and flat mate Non Stanford. The first thing Holland said to Stanford as they crossed the line was: “I’m so sorry.” Competing in her fourth Olympics, Spirig had the honour of being the first multiple Olympic female triathlete, adding her Rio silver to London gold, and Vicky Holland’s bronze meant Britain had won three of the six medals on offer in Rio, the first time any one nation had won so many triathlon medals at one celebration.