RIO DE JANEIRO _ Entering the Olympic women's triathlon Saturday, Gwen Jorgensen took nothing for granted. Even though she had won a race over the Rio Games course last summer, she cautioned that her sport's unpredictable nature meant anything could happen.
"How the race played out last year isn't necessarily how it's going to play out this year," said Jorgensen, a St. Paul, Minn., resident. "I think that's something you have to be aware of and prepared for."
After a year of complete focus on the Rio Games, Jorgensen made sure the Olympic triathlon played out exactly as she wanted. She won the gold medal in her usual fashion: by dusting the field with her devastating run. After battling on the lead with Switzerland's Nicola Spirig Hug through the first three laps of the 10k run, Jorgensen sprinted away on the final lap along Copacabana Beach, running alone to the cheers of the crowd lining Atlantica Avenue.
Jorgensen finished in 1 hour, 56 minutes, 16 seconds, 40 seconds ahead of Spirig Hug, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist. Great Britain's Vicky Holland was third.
As Jorgensen approached the finish line, she put her sunglasses on top of her head and smiled broadly as she looked around at the crowd. When she hit the tape, she burst into tears and put her hands to her face in disbelief.
Jorgensen, a two-time world champion who has a record 17 victories in World Triathlon Series races, was favored to win her first Olympic gold. She finished 38th in the triathlon at the 2012 London Games after a flat tire on her bike.
The 56-woman field started with a 1,500-meter swim in the ocean off Copacabana Beach. Mari Rabie of South Africa sprinted out of the water first, with Spain's Carolina Routier giving chase. Jorgensen was in 23rd place after the swim and started the bike race in 24th place after the transition.
She predicted the eight-lap bike course would be "a breaking point" in the race, because of a cruel hill that had to be crested over and over. Jorgensen _ who won a test event over the course last year _ powered through it, making up ground. She had moved to 10th by the second lap, as a lead pack of about 18 athletes separated themselves from the rest of the field.
Jorgensen forged her way to the front and swapped the lead with a small group including Spirig Hug, Non Stanford of Great Britain and Emma Moffatt of Australia. She was in fourth place as she began the run, four seconds behind Rabie, Spirig Hug and Moffatt.
On the first of four laps, Jorgensen darted to the lead. Spirig Hug hung with her, staying just off her right hip, as the pair broke away. They had a 23-second lead on the rest of the field by the halfway point and traded places on the lead.
