The Men’s Race
Image by Daniel MacPherson
Johnny Brownlee added the first notch to his 2015 victory belt, beating Javier Gomez and lots of other triathletes. He swam toward the front, rode with the leaders and then ran away from the field almost as soon as he put his running shoes on. “Jonathan was just really strong today. I have been through a pretty tough time lately, I got sick right before Abu Dhabi and between that race and today I was taking a strain too so I am really happy with second place. Obviously I would have loved to win but I performed the best I could,” said Gomez. Tri-excuse was notified immediately.
Not surprisingly, Richard Varga led the men out of the water. When it comes to swimming, Varga finishes first more often than high school boys on prom night. Johnny Brownlee and Javier Gomez pushed a lead group of around 15 men, weaving through the hilly, technical downtown bike course. The chase group that included Mario Mola and recent TRS Radio guest, Joe Maloy, remained about 35 seconds back for the bulk of the ride.
Image by Daniel MacPherson
.As soon as they hit the run course, Brownlee surged ahead of Gomez and the Frenchman, Pierre Le Corre. As the rain started to pour down, Johnny extended his lead, lapping stragglers left and right. Many of them sprinted alongside him for a while like drunken Tour de France fans wearing devil costumes.
“It was great to win today, first World Series event that I have won in a while. In Abu Dhabi I made a lot of mistakes and I have been beating myself up about it over the last three weeks and training hard because I did not want to do it again,” said Brownlee. “I felt good, I really enjoyed it today and I am pleased to win.”
| Pos | First Name | Last Name | Country | Time | Swim | T1 | Bike | T2 | Run | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan | Brownlee | GBR |  |
01:55:26 | 00:18:22 | 00:00:54 | 01:05:14 | 00:00:30 | 00:30:29 |
| 2 | Javier | Gomez Noya | ESP |  |
01:55:41 | 00:18:27 | 00:00:51 | 01:05:13 | 00:00:33 | 00:30:39 |
| 3 | Pierre | Le Corre | FRA |  |
01:55:52 | 00:18:30 | 00:00:52 | 01:05:08 | 00:00:30 | 00:30:53 |
| 4 | Fernando | Alarza | ESP | |
01:56:48 | 00:18:36 | 00:00:55 | 01:05:01 | 00:00:34 | 00:31:44 |
| 5 | Ryan | Bailie | AUS |  |
01:56:53 | 00:18:40 | 00:00:57 | 01:04:55 | 00:00:33 | 00:31:50 |
The Women’s Race
America’s sweetheart, Gwen Jorgenson remains perfect for 2015, winning for the first time in Auckland after two previous attempts. She left the water just 40 seconds down from the leader.
On the bike course Lucy Hall and TRS Radio patron Sarah “Groffy” True pushed the lead pack, but soon, largely due to the efforts of Lisa Norden, the 11 woman chase group was able to bridge up to the leaders forming a massive 20+ pack. After pushing hard on the bike, breaking away for a few brief moments, Norden eventually dropped out due to an issue with her achilles heel. Some speculated that her actual achilles heel might be going too hard on the bike.
When Gwen Jorgensen starts the run at the same time as her competitors, she will probably win. “I really wanted to be with the leaders in T2 so I am really happy that I was able to do that. I was able to execute with my run today but my main goal is to keep with front pack during the bike,” said Jorgensen.
Early on the run course, Andrea Hewitt, Katie Zafares and Jorgensen separated themselves from the pack and the podium was decided. Gwen steadily cruised forward, finishing 90 seconds ahead of Katie Zafares.
Unfortunately, the fans were robbed of a sprint finish between Zafares and Hewitt because Hewitt had to serve 15 seconds in the penalty box for cheating littering. Zafares eventually finished 16 seconds ahead of Hewitt.
“I am super excited, last year was my first time in Auckland and it went as bad as I think it could go. This year it went as good as I think it could go. I run my own race the whole time, I don’t want to get caught up in someone else’s pace so I just do my own thing,” said Zafares.
It was a great day for Hewitt who rallied for 3rd place in her home country, securing a spot on the New Zealand Olympic squad.
| Pos | First Name | Last Name | Country | Time | Swim | T1 | Bike | T2 | Run | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gwen | Jorgensen | USA |  |
02:09:04 | 00:20:38 | 00:00:59 | 01:12:43 | 00:00:36 | 00:34:10 |
| 2 | Katie | Zaferes | USA | |
02:10:42 | 00:20:00 | 00:00:59 | 01:13:24 | 00:00:39 | 00:35:42 |
| 3 | Andrea | Hewitt | NZL |  |
02:10:58 | 00:20:37 | 00:00:58 | 01:12:44 | 00:00:35 | 00:36:05 |
| 4 | Vendula | Frintova | CZE |  |
02:11:23 | 00:20:42 | 00:00:59 | 01:12:39 | 00:00:35 | 00:36:30 |
| 5 | Lisa | Perterer | AUT |  |
02:11:40 | 00:20:45 | 00:00:57 | 01:12:39 | 00:00:40 | 00:36:40 |
Special thanks to ITU and Delly Carr + Daniel MacPherson for images. Please follow Daniel on twitter – the poor fella barely has 80,000 followers.
