Andrea Hewitt made it two wins from two starts in the ITU World Triathlon Series with a sprint distance win on the Gold Coast. The New Zealander, who celebrated her 35th birthday last week, is now a clear leader in the Series and has booked her national team spot at the 2018 Commonwealth Games at the same venue next April. Jodie Stimpson struggled with the pace on the run, finishing sixteenth. Mario Mola (ESP) won the men's race.
2017 ITU World Triathlon Gold Coast RESULTS:
Elite Women
| 1. | Andrea Hewitt | NZL | 00:58:03 |
| 2. | Ashleigh Gentle | AUS | 00:58:07 |
| 3. | Juri Ide | JPN | 00:58:12 |
| 4. | Katie Zaferes | USA | 00:58:20 |
| 5. | Renee Tomlin | USA | 00:58:21 |
| 16. | Jodie Stimpson | GBR | 00:58:46 |
For full results, please visit here
After a choppy 750m swim, Stimpson did a lot of the work at the front of the windy 20km bike leg, but it was Hewitt who burst out of the second transition looking full of energy. Her lead was never challenged and it was local athlete, Ashleigh Gentle, who grew up on the Gold Coast, who grabbed the silver medal and a spot on Australia’s Commonwealth Games team. Juri Ide of Japan was third, her first podium finish since Chaicago in 2014.
Hewitt commented: “I knew my running was good and that’s why I went out at that pace, but you never know how the race is going to go and today I just ran the 5k at my pace and it was good enough. I’m so happy.”
Stimpson struggled on the second of the 2.5km run laps, but her sixteenth pace finish is still good enough for fourth place overall in the Series rankings. Commentating for BBC Sport, teammate Helen Jenkins said: “It was a tough day for Jodie, she probably won’t be very happy with that, she has high standards.”
She added: “It think she’s got to look at the big picture and moving forward she’s not in a bad position from where she is now. It’s a great start to the year and she’s got to move on for the next race.”
Mola won the men's race ahead of Richard Murray (RSA) and Fernando Alarza (ESP). No British men took part, favouring a later start to the season. Tom Bishop will look to continue his good form in the next round in Yokohama, 13-14 May after finishing second in the previous round in Abu Dhabi.
We are also likely to see Jonathan Brownlee, Vicky Holland and Non Stanford take part along with Stimpson and other British athletes to be confirmed. Britain's paratriathletes, including Paralympic Champion, Andy Lewis, will also be in action in Yokohama.
