2 minute read
New Plymouth to Paris for Gwen Jorgensen?
by TQ.kiwi
NEW ZEALAND will provide the scenic backdrop to one of World Triathlon’s key early season narratives when Gwen Jorgensen makes her much-anticipated return to the blue carpet.
The American superstar is on the start list for both Oceania Cup Taupo and World Cup New Plymouth, her first races since finishing second at the then ITU World Triathlon final in Cozumel in September 2016, a year in which she also won in Taranaki and America’s first Olympic triathlon gold.
After a flirtation with marathon and then the track with an eye representing Team USA in Tokyo, the 2016 Rio champion has set her heart on bolstering the American mixed relay team at next year’s XXXIII Olympiad in Paris.
In addition to racing the Feb. 25 Oceania Cup sprint race, Jorgensen will spearhead a composite international team at the Oceania Mixed Relay Championship in Taupo the following day.
“I am inspired by the U.S. mixed relay team’s silver medal in Tokyo and aspire to contribute to that team in 2024. I believe Team USA can be one step higher in Paris,” Jorgensen said.
The Taupo Conti Cup, where Jorgensen claimed the bronze medal behind Kiwis Nicole van der Kaay and Ainsley Thorpe, came just four months after Jorgensen gave birth to her second son.
The 36-year-old boasts a total of 25 gold medals and 37 podium finishes in one of the sport’s most glittering short-course careers. She is the only woman to win a world title after a perfect undefeated WTCS season, a 12-race streak that included the Rio Olympic test event. She was also 2015 WTCS Champion and a member of Team USA’s 2016 Mixed Team Relay World Championship winning quartet.
