Race Coverage

Gwen Rocks Mooloolaba...

Sunday, 16 March 2014 07:10

USAT Press Release

Mooloolaba, Australia — Gwen Jorgensen and Katie Hursey ran to first- and second-place finishes for the United States on Saturday at the 2014 ITU World Cup opener.

Jorgensen (St. Paul, Minn.), who finished fourth in the ITU World Triathlon Series rankings in 2013, clinched her victory in 59 minutes, 55 seconds on the 750-meter ...

swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer run course. This was Jorgensen’s first World Cup since 2012, when she won in Banyoles, Spain, before turning her focus exclusively to the ITU World Triathlon Series in 2013. USA Triathlon’s 2013 Rookie of the Year Hursey (Phoenix, Ariz.) was not far behind, grabbing the silver medal in 1:00:10 for her third career World Cup podium finish. Japan’s Ai Ueda clocked in at 1:00:14 for third.

Kaleb VanOrt (Mishawaka, Ind.) was the top finisher for the U.S. in the men’s race, finishing fifth to tie his best ITU World Cup finish.

The day started with Hursey leading the women’s field out of the water, posting the fastest swim split of the day (9:40) and forming the lead pack with Spain’s Carolina Routier and Canadian Kirsten Sweetland.

“When I got out of the water and saw no one ahead of me, I was super surprised and excited and I thought, ‘OK, I’ll just go with this,’” Hursey said. “Getting out of the water first made transition much easier.”

Jorgensen rode with the chase group along with Australian Emma Moffatt and Ellen Pennock of Canada, making up distance on the first two laps. The two groups merged at the halfway point, giving Jorgensen and Hursey the ideal position heading into the run. Jorgensen surged to the front of the field by the 2.5k mark on the run, logging the fastest run split of 16:32 to take the tape. READ MORE