Well, that went smoothly.
Gwen Jorgensen took to the start line in her first triathlon since the WTCS Final in Cozumel in 2016 as she raced at the Oceania Cup in Taupo.
Taupo represented the first step in her comeback with her over-arching goal being making the American Olympic team in 2024. Her return itself is a huge undertaking after having a second child. After such a prolonged absence from the sport, it is as refreshing for fans as it is brave of her to return.
By its nature of being her first race back, there is only so much we can read into Jorgensen’s performance in Taupo.
Nevertheless, she produced a strong swim to remain within range of the leaders, Emma Jeffcoat and Mikayla Messer, into T1.
Jorgensen’s swim therefore went better than may have been expected. After all, we noted that the swim could have been the biggest issue to her return given Jorgensen’s focus on running in the years since her retirement from triathlon.
In the end, Jorgensen looked comfortable.
It should be noted that there were less than 30 women racing. Moreover Lake Taupo offered perfect, flat conditions. As welcomes back go, it was certainly a kind one.
In a busier field, for example at the World Cup level, she may have to fight for position a little more. Either way, her swim was very promising.
While Jeffcoat and Messer built a small lead on the bike, Jorgensen looked relatively unperturbed in the chase pack. For large stints of the bike, she was towards the back of the pack. That is something she might not necessarily get away with that in a deeper field, but of course it was her first race back. Fatigue was always going to play a part.
That saw her enter T2 with the leaders and, already, her day could be considered a success with two big boxes ticked.
The efforts of the day showed a little as Jorgensen’s T2 was slightly more tired than the rest of the main pack and she lost a few seconds.
Nevertheless, her run was clearly her strength on the day as she recorded a 18:31 split over the 5km. The race winner, Nicole Van Der Kaay, produced a split of 18:05 on the undulating course. Jorgensen, then, was certainly within range of a good time for the course.
Her run was enough to earn her 3rd place on the day. That in itself will have earned her valuable points towards her World Triathlon ranking as well as being a valuable opportunity to shake off any rust.
A medal is a brilliant showing on her return. If nothing else, it should instil her with considerable hope going forwards.
To win would have been an extremely ambitious objective given her prolonged absence. Moreover the leaders in Taupo, Van Der Kaay and Thorpe, are developing athletes on the WTCS stage and were tough opposition on home turf.
Overall, Jorgensen showed enough in each discipline to be satisfied. Some minor points like her transitions and cornering were not as sharp as her opposition, but that makes sense.
She is a two time world champion and the Olympic gold medallist from 2016. She and her team know what they’re doing.
With a month until her comeback continues with her World Cup bow, it will be fascinating to see what additional gears she can find.
