Tongyeong ITU Triathlon World Cup
Summer Cook (Thornton, Colo.) earned her second World Cup victory of the season on Saturday at the Tongyeong ITU Triathlon World Cup, successfully defending her title from 2016.
The sprint-distance course featured a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run. Cook was first out the water, with teammate Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.) right on her heels. The two women joined a lead bike pack of 18, which only whittled to 15 by the end of the three-lap course.
On the run, Cook found herself battling at the front with Japan's Ai Ueda, ultimately outsprinting her competitor on the final downhill. Cook crossed the line in 57:44, followed by Ueda in 57:50 and Belgium's Claire Michel in 58:20.
Spivey ran her way to an eighth-place finish in 58:39. Also competing for the U.S. women were Chelsea Sodaro (Poway, Calif.), who took 18th in 1:00:23, and Erin Dolan (Bentonville, Ark.) who was 22nd in 1:01:06. In the elite men’s race, Eric Lagerstrom (Portland, Ore.) led the Americans in 21st with a time of 53:08. Aurelien Raphael of France was the champion with a time of 52:00, joined on the podium by Azerbaijan’s Rostislav Pevtsov (52:02) and Belgium’s Marten Van Riel (52:09).
For complete results from the Tongyeong ITU Triathlon World Cup, visit triathlon.org.
Salinas ITU Triathlon World Cup
Tamara Gorman (Rapid City, S.D.) earned her first career World Cup podium on Sunday, racing to a silver medal at the Salinas ITU Triathlon World Cup in Ecuador.
The Salinas race was the last sprint-distance stop on the 2017 ITU World Cup circuit, covering a 750m swim, four-lap, 20k bike and three-lap, 5k run. Gorman was one of the top four women out of the water, forming a lead pack on the bike with Brazil's Vittoria Lopes, Japan's Minami Kubono and Colombia's Diana Castillo. They were reeled in by the chasers on the bell lap, leaving the medals to be decided on the run.
Ecuador’s Elizabeth Bravo broke the tape on home soil in 57:48. Gorman, chasing hard with her first World Cup medal on the line, ran a 16:39 5k and claimed silver in 58:07. Brazil’s Luisa Baptista rounded out the podium in 58:19. Also competing for the U.S. was Brittany Warly (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who earned a top-20 finish in her first career World Cup with a time of 1:00:37.
In the men’s race, the win went to Mexico’s Crisanto Grajales, marking his first World Cup medal of the season. Felix Duchampt of France took the silver, and Manoel Messias of Brazil claimed bronze. Collin Chartier (Fairfax, Va.) led the American effort with a 28th-place finish.
For complete results from the Salinas ITU Triathlon World Cup, visit triathlon.org.
IRONMAN 70.3 Austin
Sarah True (Hanover, N.H.) took the win at IRONMAN 70.3 Austin on Sunday, covering the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run in 4:21:18. She used a race-leading 1:19:25 half marathon to secure her victory, crossing the line nearly two minutes ahead of runner-up Paula Findlay of Canada (4:23:02). Jeanni Seymour of South Africa took third in 4:26:35.
Jennifer Spieldenner (Findlay, Ohio) and Christen Brown (Longmont, Colo.) also raced well, taking fourth and fifth respectively in 4:29:48 and 4:31:27.
In the men’s race, Justin Metzler (Boulder, Colo.) led all Americans with a third-place finish in 3:55:07. Germany’s Franz Loeschke claimed the win in 3:53:50, while Metzler and Sweden’s Jesper Svensson were caught in a sprint finish for the runner-up spot. Svensson ultimately got the edge in 3:55:06, but Metzler was right on his heels in 3:55:07. T.J. Tollakson (Des Moines, Iowa) placed fourth in 3:57:07, two minutes outside of a podium spot.
For complete results from IRONMAN 70.3 Austin, visit IRONMAN.com.
Challenge Forte Village Sardinia
Rodolphe Von Berg (Boulder, Colo.) took third at Challenge Forte Village Sardinia in Italy on Sunday, a half-distance race covering a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run. Spain’s Vicente Hernández took the win in 3:57:15. Bart Aernouts of Belgium followed in 4:01:08 to claim second place, and Von Berg came through for third in 4:01:15.
For complete results from Challenge Forte Village Sardinia, visit fortevillagetriathlon.com.