Summer Rappaport (R) stands on the podium at the ITU World Triathlon Series Hamburg on July 6, 2019 in Hamburg, Germany.
Make that three podiums in the last three races for Summer Rappaport.
The triathlete survived the slick roads of a rain-soaked course and a steady challenge from a Dutch Olympian to capture the bronze medal at the ITU World Triathlon Series stop Saturday in Hamburg, Germany.
A bike crash at the end of the first lap on the city roads left Olympian Katie Zaferes, the current world No. 1 in women’s triathlon, needing to make up about 80 seconds to get back into contention in her sixth race of the season on the ITU circuit.
Instead, it was Rappaport, née Summer Cook, who bore the American standard over the final distances, battling the Netherlands’ Rachel Klamer all the way to the finish line, crossing the line a second ahead of Klamer to claim third place in 59 minutes and 42 seconds.
Great Britain’s Non Stanford jumped out to the lead midway through the race and never let up, winning in a time of 59 minutes, 24 seconds, her lead buffered by the fastest 5k run among the competitors in 16:04.
France’s Cassandre Beaugrand, winner of the Hamburg stage in 2018, finished second, seven seconds behind Stanford. Beauregard, a strong starter, had the best time in the 750-meter swim in 9:17, but Rappaport exited the water just a second behind her and continued to apply steady pressure on the leaders throughout the race.
Team USA’s Taylor Spivey finished sixth, while Zaferes dropped to 35th, her first finish off the WTS podium this season.
Rappaport, who turns 28 on July 24, got her first victory of the season at last month’s ITU Triathlon World Cup in Huatulco, Mexico. Earlier in May, she earned silver at the World Triathlon Series stop in Yokohama, Japan, the second WTS medal of her career.
Blythe Lawrence is a journalist based in Seattle. She has covered two Olympic Games and is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
