Among the multiple comebacks to elite triathlon in 2023, Gwen Jorgensen’s was perhaps the least expected. The former Olympic champion announced her return in December 2022 and in doing so sent shockwaves through the sport.
Her stated aim was to make the US Olympic team in 2024 with the Mixed Team Relay being both a source of inspiration and the focus of her ambitions.
With a full season of racing now under her belt, in this article we will assess Jorgensen’s comeback and delve into how far she has come on her quest to return to the Olympic Games.
The two time world champion returned to triathlon with plenty of fanfare and hype ahead of her racing return at the Oceania Cup in Taupo. One thing to note straight away is just how intense Jorgensen’s comeback has been. She kicked things off in New Zealand in February and was still racing in Chile in November. She took on a demanding schedule, not least given the family life considerations she had to balance, and showed plenty of stamina to get through it.
While world rankings points were a factor in forcing her to race, she certainly waded through the mud in her return and did not settle for an easier route.
On her return in Taupo, she secured a podium finish, finishing 3rd behind Nicole Van Der Kaay and Ainsley Thorpe. A month later, she finished 12th at the New Plymouth World Cup.
Whereas Jorgensen managed to position herself in the lead pack in Taupo, she had to settle for the chase in New Plymouth. The running of old remained a threat but her time away had revealed some early vulnerabilities on the world level in the swim and in the early phases of the bike.
At her next race, she was beaten by an inspired Katie Zaferes solo breakaway at the Americas Cup in St. Peters. Next up, came her WTCS return.
Jorgensen had last raced in the Series at the 2016 WTCS Final in Cozumel at which Flora Duffy had narrowly denied her a third straight world title. Unfortunately, her return in 2023 was met with a different kind of disappointment.
After a bad swim, Jorgensen was lapped out of the race in Cagliari. As a result, she did not even get the chance to test her running form against the field.
Nevertheless, she soon rallied with a silver medal at the Huatulco World Cup, her first at the world level of her comeback. While she was out-run by Anahi Alvarez Corral, Jorgensen’s level was a step up from New Plymouth.
Her summer continued with solid returns of 30th at WTCS Hamburg and 24th at WTCS Sunderland. Hamburg stood out in particular as Jorgensen logged the second fastest run of the weekend in the repechage. Her repechage run was the closest thing seen yet to vintage Jorgensen form.
Most significantly, being over the Super Sprint distance her split offered an invaluable piece of evidence towards her potential over the format, lending her relay credentials further weight.
It was in the autumn, though, that Jorgensen hit full stride. A run of World Cup victories in Valencia, Karlovy Vary, Tongyeong and, somewhat contentiously, Vina del Mar followed. The first two came over the Olympic distance while the latter pair were over the Sprint format. The common theme was Jorgensen’s relentlessness and how her run frequently overpowered her opposition.
Even in Vina del Mar, where Zaferes technically crossed the line first but was disqualified, Jorgensen had the fastest run split of the field. She was the only woman to complete the 5km in under 16 minutes and her time of 15:58 beat the next quickest (Zaferes) by 23 seconds.
It is no secret Jorgensen has always been a great runner. Her autumn World Cup form, though, served as a potent reminder to the American selectors of what her speed has to offer.
To go with her wins, Jorgensen also added a second World Cup silver medal in Miyazaki.
Yet, when considering Jorgensen’s comeback, the key is the relay. Not only was it a driving force behind her return, it also represents perhaps her best shot of securing Olympic qualification.
On that front, Jorgensen has had further success. She was part of the relay that won the Americas title in Huatulco and delivered a field-leading anchor leg. One thing to note is that Zaferes out-split Jorgensen from the second leg (clocking 21:11 to 21:42), although comparing anchor legs to others is sometimes not always the easiest.
In the Huatulco relay, Zaferes had the faster swim and bike, while Jorgensen logged the faster run. Of note, Djenyfer Arnold and WTCS medallist Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal were also faster than Jorgensen on the second leg.
Jorgensen then helped the American team to 8th place at the Mixed Team Relay in Sunderland. Impressively, she produced a field-leading second leg after catching the front pack. In doing so she made up 20 seconds, with the help of Zsanett Kuttor-Bragmayer, and out-swam and out-rode the world champion Beth Potter.
It should be noted that Potter was a late call-up to the British relay and did not race WTCS Sunderland as she was still in deep training for the Paris Test Event. Still, Jorgensen beating her has to count for something given Potter’s formidable levels shown in 2023.
When assessing Jorgensen’s comeback so far, then, there is plenty to admire. Six World Cup medals (and four wins) is a tremendous return, no matter the athlete. She has also shown herself to be a valuable relay athlete which is of the greatest importance to her medium term aims.
To date, she has not had the happiest time at the WTCS level in her comeback and it remains to be seen if she will translate her World Cup form.
The WTCS point is vital as it directly affects her Olympic prospects. To take the second slot on the American Olympic team (after Taylor Knibb), Jorgensen will need a medal at the final selection race (a 2024 Olympic distance WTCS race to be determined). With a best recent WTCS result of 24th, and a finish of 43rd at WTCS Pontevedra, she faces an uphill battle.
Otherwise, the selection will rely on discretionary measures. If no American woman medals at the final selection race, there will be two slots to fill via discretion. Jorgensen will thus face a tight battle against a range of brilliant athletes.
To dig a little deeper into her races, one point to flag is that Jorgensen has largely produced the same performance over the course of her comeback.
She appeared to make a step forward in Valencia in terms of her swim but that was not quite replicated in Karlovy Vary, Pontevedra, Tongyeong or Vina del Mar, although she was solid in Miyazaki.
In a more broken-up relay field, her swim has fared better. In larger bunches, though, she has often gotten into trouble and lost time.
On the other hand, her bike has improved. At the start of the season she lacked the initial power out of T1 to make groups, an aspect of her racing that was noticeable in New Plymouth. That was clearly corrected in Karlovy Vary, Tongyeong and Miyazaki as she rode up to the lead groups.
While her bike strength has been seen more on the World Cup level than in the WTCS, her progress has nevertheless been noteworthy. Moreover, it bodes well for the relay (and helped her in Sunderland).
Jorgensen’s transitions, particularly in T2, have been a tad slow at times but that will likely come round with further racing.
Overall, her comeback has surpassed the expectations of many and has put her in a very good position to take a run at the Olympic team. She will almost certainly get onto the start list for the WTCS selection event given her new world ranking and so has the crucial chance to state her case.
Her performances in the relay bode well too, as do the indicators of her individual disciplines within races. With a slight improvement in her swim and transitions, she could be a major threat in 2024.
Maybe her WTCS race-winning levels are in the past. Maybe they are not. If we frame her comeback through the lens of the relay and her Olympic goals, though, Gwen Jorgensen has done a fantastic job so far.
With a little over six months to go, will she be able to see the job through?
