Gwen Jorgensen won the ITU World Olympic Qualification Event in Rio de Janeiro by a 19 seconds margin over 2013 World Triathlon Series Champion Non Stanford of Great Britain and 41 seconds over fellow Briton and 3rd place finisher Vicky Holland.

Jorgensen pulled away from Stanford on the third of four laps of the run on her way to a race-best 33:57 10k split and a 1:58:46 overall time on a warm day in Rio de Janeiro.

While this Olympic qualifying event is not part of the 2015 World Triathlon Series, it marks Jorgensen’s 12th straight WTS or prestige equivalent victory for the 2014 ITU WTS World Champion and earned her a coveted US Olympic spot.

“I have been working towards this [Olympic qualifying] for a while, since the London Olympics, so I am excited to be able to come back here next year,” said Jorgensen. “This has been the first step in my goal of aspiring to win gold at Rio next year. I'm really excited and now we have two U.S. girls qualified, so I think that's the key. Sarah and I both have a year now to prepare for the race.”

Sarah True earned the second U.S. women’s Olympic qualifying slot with a 4th place finish at Brazil’s Copacabana Beach, 19 seconds behind Holland.

“I was trying to race for position and not race for the podium,” said True. “I was fighting for third but Vicky went down (crashed on the bike leg) and she still got it. She’s my buddy and I'm super psyched for her, but it would have been super nice to be on the podium.”

True said the race to make the 2016 Olympics was made tougher by the increased depth of the U.S. women. “I knew it was going to be hard this year,” she said. “We have so much depth. I’m happy I got through. I know I sound like a broken record, but after London I learned that I didn’t approach the race as a potential medalist. Now I have a year to wrap my head around that and train accordingly.”

Today's results mean that Jorgensen and True have earned their second straight Olympic berths. But despite their podium finishes, neither Stanford nor Holland have a guaranteed entry into the 2016 Games in Rio as they only fulfilled the first of two Olympic requirements set forth by Great Britain. They also need to finish on the podium in the World Championships.

“For us this is step one, but probably the most significant step. But once you have done one step, the next step gets a little bit more obtainable,” said Stanford. “I was unsure how it was going to go today, I had eight weeks of good training, but before that I was training and running all over the place. Back in February I just thought about doing steps, so to think I have gone from there to then come in second in the Test Event, it just shows the progress I have made. I am as happy as most really.”

Barbara Riveros of Chile nailed an Olympic qualification slot with a 5th place finish, 22 seconds behind True. Katie Zaferes of the U.S. who stands 2nd in the World Triathlon Series 2015 points standings, took 6th place, 18 seconds behind Riveros.

While Zaferes finished in the top eight, she remains undaunted as she still has work ahead to nab the third and final U.S. women’s Olympic triathlon team slot. “I finished in 6th but was the third American to cross the finish line and therefore I did not qualify and will be continuing my 2016 pursuit,” Zaferes wrote on Facebook. “It is awesome to be part of such a strong contingent of U.S. women.”

ITU World Olympic Qualification Event
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
August 2, 2015
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k

Results

Elite Women

1. Gwen Jorgensen (USA) 1:58:46
2. Non Stanford (GBR) 1:59:05
3. Vicky Holland (GBR) 1:59:27
4. Sarah True (USA) 1:59:46
5. Barbara Riveros (CHL) 2:00:08
6. Katie Zaferes (USA) 2:00:26
7. Anne Haug (GER) 2:00:57
8. Annamaria Mazzetti (ITA) 2:01:00
9. Rachel Klamer (NED) 2:01:01
10. Jodie Stimpson (GBR) 2:01:04
11. Flora Duffy (BER) 2:01:23
12. Kirsten Kasper (USA) 2:01:27
17. Erin Jones (USA) 2:02:18
19. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) 2:02:43
22. Kirsten Sweetland (CAN) 2:02:56
26. Lindsay Jerdonek (USA) 2:03:35
31. Chelsea Burns (USA) 2:04:33
35. Emma Jackson (AUS) 2:05:13
43. Paula Findlay (CAN) 2:06:54
52. Kaitlin Donner (USA) 2:09:06
53. Renee Tomlin (USA) 2:09:46
DNF: Andrea Hewitt (NZL), Emma Moffatt (AUS), Erin Densham (AUS), Helen Jenkins (GBR).