On Saturday 17 September the women’s 2016 World Triathlon Series will come to an end at the World Triathlon Grand Final Cozumel, but who will emerge World Champion?
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Two-time reigning world champion and Olympic gold medallist Gwen Jorgensen (USA) will attempt to defend her title and beat present WTS leader Flora Duffy (BER).
Jorgensen is currently sitting second in the Columbia Threadneedle rankings, 166 points behind Flora Duffy from Bermuda, and earning the title once again would make it three in a row, an accomplishment no elite woman has ever done.
In order for Duffy to be crowned World Champion, she needs to finish first or second in the race. While Jorgensen could still win on Saturday, if Duffy is right behind her in second, Duffy will still beat out Jorgensen for the title.
However for Duffy to podium she needs to beat the British squad of Helen Jenkins, Vicky Holland, and Non Stanford.
How the race could play out
Swim Duffy is a strong swimmer and that sets her up to be among the top cyclists when entering T1 and that is where her talent really lies. She can handle the ocean swim, so there should be no worries about Duffy excelling in the water.
While at one point in her early career Jorgensen’s toughest discipline was the swim, she now has mastered the waters and has continued to thrive amongst the leaders. However, sometimes she can find herself missing the mark and exits the waters in the middle of the pack, which prevents her from making the lead bike pack. If Duffy wants a fighting chance from Jorgensen, she needs to hope that Jorgensen has a bad swim.
Bike Duffy is arguably one of the best riders in the history of ITU. She is a World Champion in cross triathlon (we named her in our top 6 Xterra athletes of all time) and excels when the course is challenging – the more technical the better. The world also witnessed her famous solo ride in WTS Stockholm, when she completed nearly the entire 40-kilometre course on her own to take victory. Knowing that Jorgensen is strongest on the run, it will be up to Duffy to attempt some breakaways and have a fighting chance to ward off Jorgensen’s power.
The question then will remain, who will go with Duffy? We all saw in Gold Coast when Duffy, Andrea Hewitt (NZL) and Helen Jenkins (GBR) rode away as a trio, it created enough of a gap to fend off Jorgensen from claiming the gold. If that strategy worked in Australia, it could work in Mexico.
However, with such high stakes on the line, it may be hard to get the chance to breakaway, as evidenced in Rio. Brits Vicky Holland and Non Stanford typically do well on the bike, even more so when they are riding together.
Run Obviously this is Jorgensen’s strongest discipline and one her competitors fear her on. This year in Leeds, she won the race despite being down 94 seconds off the bike, which was a run that made it in the record books for a victory from the largest come-from-behind deficit. So if she is anywhere within that margin coming off the bike, it could mean trouble for her competitors.
Duffy is going to need to put a lot of work in on the bike in order to benefit herself for the run, but also ensuring she saves enough on the run to perform in the final 10km of the race.
And don’t forget the Brits. Holland, Stanford and Jenkins all are good runners. Each woman has proven their speed and tactics on the run course, so it is very likely that at least one Brit will be on the Grand Final podium.
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The women’s race takes place at 3.30pm (local time) 10.30pm British time and you can watch it live on triathlonlive.tv/live if you have a pass or is available on the red button. We will also be tweeting all the action live throughout the race @220Triathlon and highlights will be shown on Sunday18 September at 14.30 BBC2
Ironman has added the German city of Hamburg to its event schedule for 2017. The provisional course so far includes the Jungfernstieg pier in the very heart of the city as the start point of the 3.8 km swim course, which goes through the Binnen and Außenalster lakes. The two-loop 180.2 km bike course goes through Harbour City and across the famous “Köhlbrandbrücke” bridge to the southern metropolitan area of Hamburg.
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The marathon run course consists of four loops along the Alter Lake in the city centre.
“We are very pleased to host another world-class endurance sports event in Hamburg,” said Hamburg´s Sports Senator Andy Grote. “Ironman Hamburg will complement the other event offerings and is a terrific addition to our calendar. Ironman suits Hamburg and Hamburg suits Ironman.”
The Town Hall market square will feature great spectator support as the home of the iconic finish line. Hamburg is already home to WTS Hamburg in July and this race will take place about a month later on August 13.
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Christian Toetzke, Managing Director for Ironman Germany, added: “Hamburg has established itself with its sports enthusiasm over three decades as an important location with high demand for endurance sports events, especially triathlon. It was strategically important to place another top event in this area.”
Ironman has added the German city of Hamburg to its event schedule for 2017. The provisional course so far includes the Jungfernstieg pier in the very heart of the city as the start point of the 3.8 km swim course, which goes through the Binnen and Außenalster lakes. The two-loop 180.2 km bike course goes through Harbour City and across the famous “Köhlbrandbrücke” bridge to the southern metropolitan area of Hamburg.
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The marathon run course consists of four loops along the Alter Lake in the city centre.
“We are very pleased to host another world-class endurance sports event in Hamburg,” said Hamburg´s Sports Senator Andy Grote. “Ironman Hamburg will complement the other event offerings and is a terrific addition to our calendar. Ironman suits Hamburg and Hamburg suits Ironman.”
The Town Hall market square will feature great spectator support as the home of the iconic finish line. Hamburg is already home to WTS Hamburg in July and this race will take place about a month later on August 13.
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Christian Toetzke, Managing Director for Ironman Germany, added: “Hamburg has established itself with its sports enthusiasm over three decades as an important location with high demand for endurance sports events, especially triathlon. It was strategically important to place another top event in this area.”
GB’s age-group team have won 11 medals, including three golds, at the 2016 ITU Sprint Distance Triathlon World Championship in Cozumel, Mexico.
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One of the golds went to Michael Smallwood who 24 hours after winning gold in the 70-74 category at Aquathlon World Championships won another gold in the sprint distance. His time would also have been fast enough to win the 65-69 division. He is also taking part in the standard distance on Sunday so is now focussed on winning the treble.
Liz Dunlop (60-64) is also a double medal winner in Cozumel, adding another silver to that which she also won in the Aquathlon.
Jacqui Phillips (45-59) and Barbara Holmes (55-59) won the other two gold medals. In taking Silver in the 20-24 category, Brittany Tate also earned the accolade as fastest female British athlete. The fastest male was James Hodgson (20-24). He finished seventh, behind a podium sweep for the speedy Mexican athletes.
GREAT BRITAIN AGE-GROUP TEAM MEDALS:
GOLD (3)
Jacqui Phillips (F45-49 Sprint) Barbara Holmes (F55-59 Sprint) Michael Smallwood (M70-74 Sprint)
GB’s age-group team have won 11 medals, including three golds, at the 2016 ITU Sprint Distance Triathlon World Championship in Cozumel, Mexico.
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One of the golds went to Michael Smallwood who 24 hours after winning gold in the 70-74 category at Aquathlon World Championships won another gold in the sprint distance. His time would also have been fast enough to win the 65-69 division. He is also taking part in the standard distance on Sunday so is now focussed on winning the treble.
Liz Dunlop (60-64) is also a double medal winner in Cozumel, adding another silver to that which she also won in the Aquathlon.
Jacqui Phillips (45-59) and Barbara Holmes (55-59) won the other two gold medals. In taking Silver in the 20-24 category, Brittany Tate also earned the accolade as fastest female British athlete. The fastest male was James Hodgson (20-24). He finished seventh, behind a podium sweep for the speedy Mexican athletes.
GREAT BRITAIN AGE-GROUP TEAM MEDALS:
GOLD (3)
Jacqui Phillips (F45-49 Sprint) Barbara Holmes (F55-59 Sprint) Michael Smallwood (M70-74 Sprint)
The temperature was hot and humid and there were talks about reducing the race to a sprint distance, but the soaring temperatures did not daunt Flora Duffy from Bermuda who executed a fantastic race to take the win and world title, with USA’s Gwen Jorgensen taking second.
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Because when you have just won your first Triathlon World Championship and the first ever for your country, ya gotta do a lil skip down the finish chute. Well done, @floraduffy! #BER #wtscozumel #triathlon #worldchampion
A photo posted by World Triathlon (@worldtriathlon) on Sep 17, 2016 at 5:29pm PDT
Duffy entered the race as the series leader knowing she had to come at least second to take the world title; if Jorgensen won and Duffy came in third the title would be Jorgensen’s, her third in row and her place in the history book assured forever.
But it wouldn’t be Jorgensen’s day. After a solid swim Duffy came out the water third behind Brits Jess Learmonth and Lucy Hall. Jorgensen was hot on their heels but couldn’t quite make the lead group and the trio made a break and were soon 20 seconds up.
The three leaders worked together well and gradually extended the lead despite the hot temperatures, and by the time they entered T2 they were a minute up on the chase group, which included Jorgensen, and Brits Non Stanford and Helen Jenkins. Sadly a crash on the bike led to Olympic bronze medallist GB’s Vicky Holland to retire.
A clean transition for Duffy meant she left T2 a minute up on Jorgensen and had everything to play for – a title was within her grasp. And she set out as if she meant business, looking strong throughout the run soon creating a gap on Learmonth and Hall.
Although Jorgensen fought her way through to second she looked like she was struggling and never managed to gain on Duffy who maintained her one minute lead and take the victory and the series win.
“I am speechless. I have no idea how that happened. The perfect day came when I needed it.” She said.
She was grateful of the assistance from the British duo of Learmonth and Hall, adding: “It was really great working with them , and I thank them for working with me. In triathlon you want to make the bike count.
“Anything is possible. I hope this inspires, no matter where you’re from, a little country, you can be up there with the best.”
Jorgensen said: “Flora had a great race, she was better today than me. Flora has been great this year, she’s really pushed me to be a better athlete.”
It was a great, brave, tactical race from Flora Duffy and her series ends with two WTS wins as well as two other podium finishes, and a world title.
Gwen Jorgensen finished the series in second, while Japan’s Ai Ueda came third in the series after a fantastic run meant she finished 5th behind Helen Jenkins in WTS Cozumel. Jenkins just missed out on a podium finish when Australia’s Charlotte McShane out sprinted her to the line.
But the congratulations today need to go to Flora Duffy.
The temperature was hot and humid and there were talks about reducing the race to a sprint distance, but the soaring temperatures did not daunt Flora Duffy from Bermuda who executed a fantastic race to take the win and world title, with USA’s Gwen Jorgensen taking second.
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Because when you have just won your first Triathlon World Championship and the first ever for your country, ya gotta do a lil skip down the finish chute. Well done, @floraduffy! #BER #wtscozumel #triathlon #worldchampion
A photo posted by World Triathlon (@worldtriathlon) on Sep 17, 2016 at 5:29pm PDT
Duffy entered the race as the series leader knowing she had to come at least second to take the world title; if Jorgensen won and Duffy came in third the title would be Jorgensen’s, her third in row and her place in the history book assured forever.
But it wouldn’t be Jorgensen’s day. After a solid swim Duffy came out the water third behind Brits Jess Learmonth and Lucy Hall. Jorgensen was hot on their heels but couldn’t quite make the lead group and the trio made a break and were soon 20 seconds up.
The three leaders worked together well and gradually extended the lead despite the hot temperatures, and by the time they entered T2 they were a minute up on the chase group, which included Jorgensen, and Brits Non Stanford and Helen Jenkins. Sadly a crash on the bike led to Olympic bronze medallist GB’s Vicky Holland to retire.
A clean transition for Duffy meant she left T2 a minute up on Jorgensen and had everything to play for – a title was within her grasp. And she set out as if she meant business, looking strong throughout the run soon creating a gap on Learmonth and Hall.
Although Jorgensen fought her way through to second she looked like she was struggling and never managed to gain on Duffy who maintained her one minute lead and take the victory and the series win.
“I am speechless. I have no idea how that happened. The perfect day came when I needed it.” She said.
She was grateful of the assistance from the British duo of Learmonth and Hall, adding: “It was really great working with them , and I thank them for working with me. In triathlon you want to make the bike count.
“Anything is possible. I hope this inspires, no matter where you’re from, a little country, you can be up there with the best.”
Jorgensen said: “Flora had a great race, she was better today than me. Flora has been great this year, she’s really pushed me to be a better athlete.”
It was a great, brave, tactical race from Flora Duffy and her series ends with two WTS wins as well as two other podium finishes, and a world title.
Gwen Jorgensen finished the series in second, while Japan’s Ai Ueda came third in the series after a fantastic run meant she finished 5th behind Helen Jenkins in WTS Cozumel. Jenkins just missed out on a podium finish when Australia’s Charlotte McShane out sprinted her to the line.
But the congratulations today need to go to Flora Duffy.
Coming into the final race of the season, the message was clear: if Jonny Brownlee was to win the world title he needed to win WTS Cozumel and keep Spaniard Mario Mola off the podium. With just 400m of the race to go, the plan was working as Jonny led the field and Mola was trailing in fifth.
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Jonny’s second elite ITU world title beckoned, until a bonk saw him collapse with exhaustion. His brother Alistair would scoop him up and carry his younger sibling to the line, being passed by South Africa’s Henri Schoeman on the way. Jonny would finish second and be rushed straight to hospital as Mola came home in fifth to take the world title by just four points.
Despite soaring temperatures, the race had the Brownlees’ traditional stamp of authority all over it from the outset. The brothers were second and third out of the water behind Raphael Aurelien from France (with Mola around 20secs back), and they emerged from T1 sharing the lead on the bike course.
Both Brownlees were joined by seven other riders to form a lead group of nine, which included Aaron Royle (AUS), Greg Billington (USA), Henri Schoeman (RSA), Raphael Aurelien (FRA), João Pereira (POR), Alessandro Fabian (ITA) and Andrea Salvisberg (SUI), and throughout the eight laps the group worked well to extend their lead on the chase group from 21secs to 1min 30secs by the time they got to T2.
Should Jonny win Mola would need to podium to claim the title, and he set a blistering pace on the early stages of the 10km run; however both Brownlees had no intention of letting him catch them. The brothers and Schoeman formed a front group of three and stayed there, maintaining their one minute lead they obtained in the bike.
It was all but certain that the podium would be the same as Rio, but the question was in what order? It was the younger Brownlee who made the first move, with Schoeman and Alistair trailing behind. The title looked his for the taking.
However with 400 metres Brownlee started to wobble, staggering and appearing disorientated. In worrying scenes he staggered over to an official, before brother Alistair scooped him up and almost carried him to the line. Medics rushed over to help as he collapsed and joined Julie Moss, Paula Newby-Fraser and Sian Welch in triathlon’s greatest bonks montage.
In the meantime Schoeman had ran past the brothers to clam victory, his first WTS win, and Mario Mola finished in fifth to take the world title by just four points. Jonny was given second place in the race and series, while Fernando Alarza (ESP) took third place in the series
Alistair Brownlee said: “If it happened to anyone I’d help them across the line, it’s an awful position to be in. If he conked out a K [kilometre] from the finish line and there’s no medical support, it’s dangerous. I wish he’d get his pacing right and get to the finish line first. He could have won easily, he could have jogged that last 2km and won the race, but who am I to talk!?
“You have to race the conditions. I’ve done what I wanted to do for the season so I wasn’t going to put it on the line today. I was quite comfortable, thinking I’m going to get second or third. I made sure I took lots of water on, made sure I kept myself cool and I was alright.”
Mario Mola commented: “First of all, that’s not the way I wanted to win the world championships. I thought, well, I’m going to be second again, but at least I will fight until the end. It’s racing, that’s triathlon and I’m very happy to win.”
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The Spanish Triathlon Federation lodged a protest about Jonny receiving assistance; however the ITU jury ruled against him being disqualified in accordance to the rules, which state that athletes can receive help from other athletes, Technical Officials or Race Officials.
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WTS Cozumel: all the drama and emotion in pictures
Coming into the final race of the season, the message was clear: if Jonny Brownlee was to win the world title he needed to win WTS Cozumel and keep Spaniard Mario Mola off the podium. With just 400m of the race to go, the plan was working as Jonny led the field and Mola was trailing in fifth.
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Jonny’s second elite ITU world title beckoned, until a bonk saw him collapse with exhaustion. His brother Alistair would scoop him up and carry his younger sibling to the line, being passed by South Africa’s Henri Schoeman on the way. Jonny would finish second and be rushed straight to hospital as Mola came home in fifth to take the world title by just four points.
Despite soaring temperatures, the race had the Brownlees’ traditional stamp of authority all over it from the outset. The brothers were second and third out of the water behind Raphael Aurelien from France (with Mola around 20secs back), and they emerged from T1 sharing the lead on the bike course.
Both Brownlees were joined by seven other riders to form a lead group of nine, which included Aaron Royle (AUS), Greg Billington (USA), Henri Schoeman (RSA), Raphael Aurelien (FRA), João Pereira (POR), Alessandro Fabian (ITA) and Andrea Salvisberg (SUI), and throughout the eight laps the group worked well to extend their lead on the chase group from 21secs to 1min 30secs by the time they got to T2.
Should Jonny win Mola would need to podium to claim the title, and he set a blistering pace on the early stages of the 10km run; however both Brownlees had no intention of letting him catch them. The brothers and Schoeman formed a front group of three and stayed there, maintaining their one minute lead they obtained in the bike.
It was all but certain that the podium would be the same as Rio, but the question was in what order? It was the younger Brownlee who made the first move, with Schoeman and Alistair trailing behind. The title looked his for the taking.
However with 400 metres Brownlee started to wobble, staggering and appearing disorientated. In worrying scenes he staggered over to an official, before brother Alistair scooped him up and almost carried him to the line. Medics rushed over to help as he collapsed and joined Julie Moss, Paula Newby-Fraser and Sian Welch in triathlon’s greatest bonks montage.
In the meantime Schoeman had ran past the brothers to clam victory, his first WTS win, and Mario Mola finished in fifth to take the world title by just four points. Jonny was given second place in the race and series, while Fernando Alarza (ESP) took third place in the series
Alistair Brownlee said: “If it happened to anyone I’d help them across the line, it’s an awful position to be in. If he conked out a K [kilometre] from the finish line and there’s no medical support, it’s dangerous. I wish he’d get his pacing right and get to the finish line first. He could have won easily, he could have jogged that last 2km and won the race, but who am I to talk!?
“You have to race the conditions. I’ve done what I wanted to do for the season so I wasn’t going to put it on the line today. I was quite comfortable, thinking I’m going to get second or third. I made sure I took lots of water on, made sure I kept myself cool and I was alright.”
Mario Mola commented: “First of all, that’s not the way I wanted to win the world championships. I thought, well, I’m going to be second again, but at least I will fight until the end. It’s racing, that’s triathlon and I’m very happy to win.”
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The Spanish Triathlon Federation lodged a protest about Jonny receiving assistance; however the ITU jury ruled against him being disqualified in accordance to the rules, which state that athletes can receive help from other athletes, Technical Officials or Race Officials.
WTS Cozumel: all the drama and emotion in pictures
The video of Alistair Brownlee helping his brother to the finishing line of WTS Cozumel has gone viral. The emotional scenes of Alistair supporting and half carrying his younger brother bring a tear to the eye. It was not only a bid to give him the best chance of winning the World Series and being awarded the title world champion, but also so he could get medical assistance he obviously needed.
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WTS final in Cozumel: who will win men’s world title?
Alistair said: ““I have been in that position before, when it happened to me in London a few years ago, I remember being in second place and then coming around and someone telling me I was in tenth.
“I couldn’t remember all of those people passing me. So I swore that, literally if it happened to anyone I would help them across the line. It is an awful position to be in, if he clunks out 1k from the finish line there is no medical support, it is a dangerous position to be in. Obviously the World Series is a big race, but I just had to do what was right in that situation.”
And in typical Yorkshire, understated fashion Alistair, once he delivered Jonny safely to the line, called him an ‘idiot’ for not pacing properly.
“I wish the flippin’ idiot had paced it!”
Brotherly love right there, Alistair Brownlee! https://t.co/DRirXNxbG9 pic.twitter.com/k0IiAPTamh
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 19, 2016
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From his hospital bed Jonny tweeted:
Not how I wanted to end the season, but gave it everything. Thanks @AliBrownleetri, your loyalty is incredible pic.twitter.com/6uG4QiIgfS
— Jonathan Brownlee (@jonny_brownlee) 19 September 2016
Looking strong: The Brownlees out on the run leg with the South African Henri Schoeman, who would go on to win the race.
I’ve got you ‘bro’: Alistair helps Jonny to the line