Her running style has been described as near-perfect by some of the top coaches in the sport. Darren Smith, coach to Olympic silver medallist Lisa Norden and Commonwealth gold medallist Jodie Stimpson, told 220: “Jorgensen’s just killing everyone, isn’t she? If you look at her, everything’s straight.”

But where has this long-limbed leopard come from? How does one go from accountant, specialising in corporation tax, to the most successful female Olympic-distance triathlete to have ever graced the ITU’s distinctive blue carpet? 

Marked potential

Older sister Elizabeth may well be the answer. Herself a keen track and field athlete in high school, Liz’s coach, Eric Lehmann, approached her one day to demand “You have to get your sister to start running”. Gwen, however, was in love with swimming, refusing to miss a day in the pool for any other sport.

Lehmann, clearly unperturbed and aware of the potential talent in his midst, said he would be flexible, allowing her to swim around two run sessions a week. Success on two feet came swiftly, even though the hours devoted to running were significantly less than those swimming.

Moving to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, to study general accountancy (“not knowing what I wanted to study, but I just found this very interesting”) in 2004, Lehmann continued to encourage her, convincing her to try for the college team – “I just thought he was nuts,” admits Gwen now. “But he called up the coach, Jim Stintzi and I was on the team later that year. And then I did a time-trial and qualified for the NCAA’s [National Collegiate Athletic Association], so it was crazy.”

Multisport fortune would come a-knockin’ in 2009 in the shape of former American pro triathlete Barb Lindquist, who had started working for (America’s equivalent of the BTF) USA Triathlon to identify, recruit and ultimately mentor talent from college swimming and track teams for their Olympic programme. 

“Barb was the reason I started doing triathlon,” says Gwen, who by now was on a one-year Masters programme. “She came to me as part of that programme and asked me if I would try a triathlon. At the time I had a full-time job lined up at Ernst & Young, so it was kind of a hard decision. She told me to just give it a shot and see if I liked it. She said I could work full time and do tri.” 

Qualifying for the London Olympics one year later, she became the programme’s first success story. After making the team, she took a leave of absence from her job, a position that she still technically holds: “I could go back! That’s always nice to know when your athletic career may one day be over.” 

But could she honestly see herself going back to a desk job? “I really did enjoy my work with Ernst & Young, I enjoyed what I was doing, but I can’t complain about my job now. I mean I love being outside and getting to do what I love every day.”

School of wizardry

Despite the fanfare leading up to the 2012 Games, Gwen’s race in London was effectively ruined by a flat tyre, leaving her trailing in 38th place as her teammate Sara Groff took fourth. But before the Olympics, Gwen had approached Triathlon Canada’s national high-performance coach, Jamie Turner, a Kiwi, drawn by the idea of working in a dedicated triathlon team. In October of that year, she joined his squad, the Wollongong Wizards, whose Twitter biog reads: “Illawarra-based Triathlon School of Wizardry. We make magic happen.”

“It’s been phenomenal,” says Gwen of the set-up. “I knew that in order for me to become more successful and become the best athlete, I needed to join this type of group. And Jamie was incredible, the way he has this group set up, everyone is encouraging, everyone is happy and truly happy for other athletes when they do well. I wouldn’t have this success without the Wollongong Wizards and Jamie, they have really helped me and pushed me every day.” 

While Gwen’s results pre-Games were solid, including a second place behind Helen Jenkins at the 2011 London WTS race, post Wollongong Wizard-enrollment her success on the ITU course has been relentless, with 11 top-five World Tri Series finishes out of 17 starts. And of those 11, eight were wins. 

When Gwen first started working with Jamie, the focus was inevitably on building up her swim and bike strength – which, ironically, while still not nearly as strong as her run strength, have both resulted in an even stronger run. “The stronger we get on the swim and the bike, the better my run is. I’m not as fatigued going into it and I have more strength. We worked on glute strength a lot with my running, which is important as well as core work.”

“We’re seeing Gwen running faster because she’s now more economical and efficient on the swim and the bike,” says Turner. “So we will continue to see Gwen run faster as she improves in the swim and the bike.”

But what exactly makes Gwen’s run so good? In short, everything. Turner highlights the following elements:

“Her mechanics are good, her stride length, her ability to hold her form under stress is good, she is good at extracting the most out of herself in the run and she thrives and enjoys the challenge of running fast. It’s something she really prides herself on. Physiologically her numbers are good too.” 

“A lot of it has to do with genetics,” says Gwen. “When I was growing up I did everything I could to be successful at swimming. However, I wasn’t world class. I still have to work extremely hard at swimming, whereas running comes more naturally. I’m also consistent in my running – running about 50–60km a week.” 

Finding the balance

Often compared to another of the great triathlon runners, Emma Snowsill (who also helps mentor a number of the Wollongong Wizards), Jorgensen has divided opinion as to whether she can ever be truly classed as a great triathlete when she relies so heavily on one discipline to win races.

“I look at my competitors and at the men on the circuit and I see those who are dominant on the swim, bike and  run – the Brownlees, Javier Gomez – and that’s what I want to be,” she admits. 

“And the thing I love about ITU racing is that every race is different,” she continues. “Sometimes swim/bikers get away. Sometimes everyone is together coming into the run. You have to be able to swim with the best, bike with the best, and run away from the best to win. I’m still trying to balance all three.

“I treat the swim like a swim race, bike like a bike race and running like a run race. The cycling is not a 40k TT like in non-drafting. The accelerations and power output on the bike are difficult and can really affect the run off the bike. You need to be able to accelerate and surge throughout the race. It’s a lot of sprinting and recovering.” 

Investing for the future

“There are improvements every day to aim towards in terms of stability and strength,” says Turner on Gwen’s training focus leading into a new season. “When you take up the sport late like Gwen did you miss all of those junior opportunities. Gwen came in as a 24-year-old accountant, remember, not a triathlete. So the challenge is to keep investing in the process. Yes, she has a gift, certainly genetically as well, but she works just as hard as everybody else.”

Jorgensen said: “The Olympics are the biggest one-day race in our sport and crazy things can and will happen. Triathlon is unique in that there are so many variables: there can be a swim/bike breakaway, a mechanical on the bike, the race may all come together. The challenge of the sport is also its beauty.”

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(Images: Laughing Dog / Delly Carr)

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So, when you are faced with a gloomy 6.30am training session in the rain, it might be worth taking a few moments to get yourself in a more positive headspace, as it could benefit your brain and body in the long-term and make the difference on race day.    

The research involved 76 participants, whose age ranged from 18 to 32 years old. The subjects were randomly allocated into different groups, with each group being shown one of several multimedia presentations, before all groups completed 30 minutes on an exercise bike. Some of the presentations highlighted the benefits of cycling on health, whilst others didn’t.

The participants were also asked to answer questions on whether they already believed the positive effects of physical activity (‘habitual expectation’), and their mood before and after the exercise session. Brain activity was also measured, using an electroencephalogram (EEG).

Participants who already believed the positive effects of exercise before the start of the study reported reduced anxiety levels, being in a better mood, and enjoyed the exercise more. They were also shown to have neurophysiological changes on the EEG after the exercise –in this case, more brain-activity in regions linked with relaxation and well-being. 

Those who had been exposed to positive multimedia presentations before their exercise session also recorded the same EEG neurophysiological changes, but not the same self-reported psychological changes, as the ‘habitual expectation’ participants.  This shows that while expectation can be influenced by outside information, making self-belief and positive mindset about exercise a regular habit has a stronger effect on mood and well-being.

The team think that this effect is present across a range of endurance sports – great news for triathletes, as a regular effort to really believe in training sessions could result in more benefits for the brain, which in turn may improve performance.    

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Needless to say it all went rather well in Rio, and we were more than keen to try out the same bike that the brothers rode so magnificently to Olympic gold and silver. 

On first impressions it’s impressive just how integrated everything is – to the untrained eye it may not look as space-age as a fully aero road or TT bike, but on a club ride and at a local triathlon it turned more than a few heads. Hidden front brakes and a rear brake located below the bottom bracket mean there’s minimum airflow disruption, and a four-bolt saddle clamp allows you to adjust the seatpost angle for an ultra-aggressive position.   

Alistair Brownlee wins in Rio

The build is largely the same as the standard Boardman Air 9.9 except for the paint job, but the Brownlees opted for a Fizik Arione 00 saddle and bar tape – the saddle is fantastic, and we think it’s definitely an upgrade on the Prologo perch you get with the stock model. 

The Sram eTap shifting is flawless, and to change between the big and small rings you simply double-tap on both shifters. There’s a definitive electronic ‘click’ whenever you perform a shift, the only problem is getting used to how responsive it is compared to mechanical. The frame is nice and stiff, and the oversized forks make the bike feel strong and controllable at 40km/h plus. 

Pairing with Zipp 404’s is a nod to the bike’s pack-riding pedigree, as there’s much less need for the ultra wind-cheating 808’s in draft-legal racing. This said, the 404’s still cut through the air magnificently and on a particularly windy weekend in the UK, were more beneficial for some extra stability and easier handling. Tyres come courtesy of Continental in the form of their Competition Pro Ltd tubulars, which unfortunately aren’t available to the public – but purely for bragging purposes, we can reveal they’re even grippier and smoother than the mass-produced Competitions! If you happen to be very well connected in the bike world or bump into a Brownlee out riding somewhere, it might be worth asking them if you can ‘borrow’ their tyres…  

So far Boardman have run a competition to win one of the signature frames for their newsletter subscribers, and any news of some going on general sale is still TBC. We’re told the complete bike won’t be available, but you can buy the Air 9.9 specced with Sram eTap in the non-custom colours via Boardman’s website for £6,499,99. 

*For a full review, look out for issue 331 of 220 Triathlon, on sale 11th October

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*For more gear news, reviews and info head over to our gear section

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In it’s classiest form, the Chronos comes with a titanium strap, sapphire lens and high-res 1.2 inch display for a whopping £1,099,99. The leather-strapped version will ‘only’ set you back £849.99, however. 

The metal case on the Chronus is made from premium jeweller’s grade materials, constructed to traditional watch making quality, and is designed to be as classy as it is practical. It comes equipped with everything you’d expect from their Vivoactive fitness trackers, including daily activity tracking technology, pedometer, calories counter and a sleep tracker in sleep mode.

Reading through the list of features the Chronus is up there with the most sophisticated GPS watches, meaning you’re not just paying for the prestige. 25 hours battery life (13 in GPS mode), water resistance to 100m, GLONASS satellite receivers and activity profiles for at least ten sports makes it arguably the most feature-packed Garmin to date.  

You can also sync all your data though Garmin’s Connect IQ app, receive text, email and call notifications and even get weather updates. Even so, is it really worth over a grand? We’ll be hoping to get our hands on a Fenix Chronus in the coming weeks, so check back for more news on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages! 

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For the best multisport gear reviews, guides and info, head to our gear section

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Of the new bike releases, 220 was excited to hear of the Parlee TTR tri bike, the world’s first to have disc brakes and through-axles. We’ll be getting an exclusive run-through of the bike’s engineering process from the bike’s creator Bob Parlee in the coming days.  

The new Parlee TTR with disc brakes

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Other big bike news includes the new lineup of Scott Foil aero road bikes, with the Foil Premium at the top of the line complete with the new Dura-Ace electronic groupset. Austrian bike brand Simplon had their MR.T 2 tri bike on display, and tell us they will be available through a UK distributor in 2017. 

Away from the bikes, Louis Garneau have made changes to their flagship course tri suit for 2017, with improved fabrics and compression in the legs and a colour change from black/green to black/red. There is also subtle changes to their X-Lite tri shoes (which won 220’s tri shoe grouptest this year) with improved power transfer in the sole. Santini were showing their new 2017 sleeved aero tri suit, and Gore, more renowned for their high-end bike-specific gear, are bringing out tri suits for 2017. the women’s suit (below) has a zipper around the hip line for toilet stops, which will be welcome news for many triathletes! 

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We’ll be bringing you all the latest gear and tech news this week from Eurobike – look out for our Eurobike feature in issue 331 of 220 Triathlon, on sale in October

Forced out of a professional football career and into depression by injury, Luke Tyburski discovered his salvation in the world of extreme endurance sport.

The Ultimate Triathlon is his own creation: an insane 2,000km solo swim, bike and run from Morocco to Monaco, all in just 12 days. Experienced athletes said it couldn’t be done, Luke believed otherwise…

On the night, Luke will also be hosting a Q&A with the audience.

Date: Wednesday 5th October 

Where: Cube Cinema, Bristol, BS2 8JD

Time: 7pm

Here’s a trailer for the film…

The Ultimate Triathlon Official Trailer from fizzeek media on Vimeo.

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Tickets are available here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ultimate-triathlon-documentary-tickets-27373313317

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Canyon have at long last announced the release of the Speedmax CF this week, a more accessible (and more affordable) version of the Speedmax CF SLX rode to glory by Jan Frodeno at Challenge Roth earlier this summer. 

Marketing manager Nick Allen tells us the bike will be available at numerous price points, starting at €2300 specced with Mavic wheels and Shimano 105 groupset – though still a big investment for some it means a bike proven to be one of the world’s fastest will be accessible to the mass-market, with the direct-mount rear brake as opposed to integrated on the SLX version costing just 0.6 watts per hour according to Allen.
You can read a more in-depth first look of the Speedmax CF here, courtesy of our sister title BikeRadar. 

Boutique American bike brand Parlee are renowned for their customisation, so it’s little surprise that their new TTR tri bike was on show in three completely different colour schemes at Eurobike. Marketing manager Tom Rodi told us Parlee usually take on one big project every year, and this time around the TTR is the outcome. The first triathlon bike with disc brakes and through-axles, it aims to bring much improved braking to the tri market without the losses in aerodynamics, and a removable carbon fairing has been added at the front and back to reduce drag.  

The version of the TTR on show above was equipped with Sram Red Etap shifters and Hed wheels, and the bike is listed at 5999 euros minus both of these – innovation clearly comes at a cost, though the TTR is an exciting proposition. 

Reynolds Cycling have unveiled their new lineup of tri-orientated wheels, having completely overhauled their Aero range. They will now just come in 46, 65 and 80mm depths, are tubeless ready and are optimised to achieve lower drag than previous versions. The branding is also more subtle, with a sleek blacked-out finish.

Endura have been busy creating new cycle-specific lines for 2017, and have made some limited edition jerseys in fun prints that will be available in early 2017. You’ll have to be quick as we’re told it’s going to be in very limited runs!

Endura’s new cycling speedsuit is potentially a big game changer, as the arms are clad with silicon rather than the ribbed strips seen on previous versions and on the Drag2Zero tri suit. We will wait with anticipation to see if Endura role the tech out onto their tri suits in the future…

We’re bringing you all the latest tri gear and tech news this week from Eurobike – look out for our Eurobike feature in issue 331 of 220 Triathlon, on sale in October

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With a working title of ‘Smartbike’, the system can connect numerous sensors to the rider to give a huge amount of information about position.

The data can be downloaded and your optimal aerodynamic position on the bike determined: this can then be used to actually fine-tune your position while riding to make it the most aerodynamic, in effect replicating wind tunnel data in real-time. Though developer Marc Graveline says this in no way negates the importance of bike fit (more so that Smartbike is designed to be an extension of a bike fit to further fine-tune your own body’s position on the bike) it does mean that data you could only gather in a wind tunnel can be accessible to the public. Smartbike can also calculate other metrics not relating to aerodynamics, including heart rate variability, lactic acid build-up and body temperature. 

Graveline told us there is no release date as of yet, but the price will most likely be akin to a high-end power meter. When it does hit the market Argon 18 are exploring options to sell it as a stand-alone product as well as integrated specifically into Argon 18’s bikes. 

Elsewhere, 220 noticed a trend for brands building do-it-all bikes for road and tri – two notable examples were the Kuota KT3 and the Bergamont Prime RS Tri. The Kuota KT3 bike on display had just drop bars attached, but the frame is TT-like in its geometry. Kuota tell us it’s their ultimate solution for a do-it-all aero road and tri bike, and you simply need to attach an aero rig to make it as capable as a dedicated tri bike. 

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The Bergamont Prime RS, however, comes with clip-on bars already attached, and while not having such an aero geometry is fully ready to go with no extras needed. The bike will retail for 3999 Euros, and we’re told the brand, who are massive on the continent, are exploring the idea of expanding their UK operations.

Tucked away on a smaller marquee at Eurobike was fledgling British brand Flaer, who have developed a patented self-lubricating chain system. 

The logic is that during a ride, your chain’s lubricant will start to have less effect than during the first hour of riding and power is lost from the extra friction – this is where Flaer’s chain system comes in, as the specially designed lubricant is pumped out in micro-doses via a vessel attached to your driveside (in a similar place to where a cadence sensor would go). To clean your chain after you simply rinse with water, as the formula is light and doesn’t stick. 

Flaer tell us the system is set to retail at £250, with the rolling cost being the lubricant itself that will be a similar price to others on the market. The brand are in discussion with bike manufacturers to potentially have it integrated onto bikes at point-of-sale, and we think the product could have an interesting future off the back of its potential to save power by improving the workings of your chain while you ride.   

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We’re bringing you all the latest tri gear and tech news this week from Eurobike – look out for our Eurobike feature in issue 331 of 220 Triathlon, on sale in October

This marks the culmination of a year of qualifying races that included the new British race, the ÖtillÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly in June (see report here). Teams of two will swim and run a total of 75km as they traverse the 26 islands from Sandhamn to Utö, a race which breaks down into 10km of cold, rough sea swimming in the Baltic and 65km of tough trails, slippery rocks and rocky terrain (see our beginners’ guide to swimrun here).

Triathletes Racing

The event will include some notable names from the world of multisport, including Scottish triathlete, Ironman UK 2010 winner and three-time Ironman 70.3 winner Fraser Cartmell. He joins ultra-runner Andrew Fargus, who won the Scilly ÖtillÖ race with former pro triathlete Richard Stannard, who is unable to compete in Sweden this time. In total, 12 teams this year will include British athletes.

Another recognisable tri name competing this year is Faris Al Sultan, professional triathlete and 2005 Kona winner, who races with Werner Leitner.

Image: Jakob Edholm

Ones To Watch

Some previous winners and record holders will be heading to the championship race this weekend with titles to defend. Look out for Daniel Hansson and Lelle Moberg who hold the course record (2014) of 8 hours 16 mins. Also competing in the men’s teams are reigning world champs Paul Krochak and Oscar Olsson.

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In the mixed race 2015 winners Staffan Björklund and Marika Wagner will be back to see if they can match or better their fifth-overall place of last year. Plus in the women’s teams, reigning world champs Annika Eriksson and Maja Tesch will compete in separate teams, with Kristin Larsson and Bibben Nordblom respectively,

The race will be streamed live online at http://otilloswimrun.com/live from 04:45 UK time. The 220 Triathlon team will also be following the race and posting live updates on Twitter (@220Triathlon) throughout, plus check back here for race reports and interviews.

ÖtillÖ Final 15

Also taking place this weekend is the new ÖtillÖ Final 15 race. Held on Saturday 3rd September, this gives swimrun teams the chance to experience the last stages of the Grand Final course in a shorter race and is one of a series of ‘sprint’ events launched by ÖtillÖ to introduce more athletes to the sport of swimrun.

In total, Final 15 athletes will race just over 2km of swimming and 14km of running, taking in a slightly modified route to the grand final finish line in Üto. Competing for 220 Triathlon is Editor Helen Webster (@Helen_Webster on Twitter) who joins a media team. Helen also competed earlier in the year in the ÖtillÖ swimrun isles of Scilly race with Swedish multi-time ÖtillÖ world champs finisher Göran Wernqvist (read her race blog here).

The Final 15 will also be streamed live at http://otilloswimrun.com/live, starting at 11:15am UK time on Saturday 3rd September.

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Interested in trying swimrun? Read our beginners’ guide to swimrun here and our feature on swimrun gear here.