KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic — Tamara Gorman reached the ITU Triathlon World Cup podium for the fourth time in her career Sunday, earning a silver medal in Karlovy Vary.
The course covered an Olympic-distance 1,500-meter swim in Rolava Lake, a technical 40.8-kilometer bike through the city and a hot and hilly 10-kilometer run.
Gorman (Rapid City, S.D.) was first out of the water in 19 minutes, 43 seconds, with 12 women right on her heels under the 20-minute mark. Gorman solidified her spot in the lead bike pack, riding with athletes like U.S. teammate Chelsea Burns (Seattle, Wash.), Spain’s Sara Perez Sala, the Netherlands’ Lotte Wilms and others.
Pulling the chase group, the Czech Republic’s Vendula Frintova and Japan’s Juri Ide bridged up to the leaders on the second of seven laps on the bike. Burns dropped out of the race after a tire puncture on lap five, and the lead group eventually thinned to 16 athletes heading into the second transition.
Gorman and Frintova pulled away quickly on the run, building a gap of about 20 seconds on their closest competitors by the 2.5k mark. Gorman tried to break away from the Czech hometown star a few times, but Frintova held strong. In the final 200m, Frintova outkicked the American and broke the tape with a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 8 seconds. Gorman crossed the line just four seconds later for silver, and Germany’s Caroline Pohle rounded out the podium in 2:10:41.
“I knew it would come to a sprint finish. I tried to put in a couple of pickups about 800 meters out, but I couldn’t drop her,” Gorman said. “I was pleased with my swim, I came out of the water in the lead and I felt strong on the bike today. I was actually a little bit scared leading into this race because of the course. I knew it was going to be tough, but that it would be a testament to my past couple of weeks of training. I think I succeeded, and I’m really happy with my performance today. I’m super excited and pumped leading into next week.”
The podium is Gorman’s second this season on the ITU World Cup circuit, as she took bronze in Cape Town, South Africa, in February. She lines up again next week for the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final, set for Aug. 31 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Also racing for the U.S. women was Rachel Pearson (Forest Park, Ill.), who placed 42nd in 2:27:53.
On the men’s side, Collin Chartier (Fairfax, Va.) — the lone U.S. competitor in the race — earned a career-best ITU World Cup finish of 13th. He had a strong swim, exiting the water in 18:19 — just six seconds back from swim leader Richard Varga of Slovakia. He joined a large lead pack of 29 men on the bike, and that group stayed together for the entire seven-lap course.
The medals would go to whomever could make the best of the challenging run, as temperatures approached the mid-80s Fahrenheit. Ultimately, it was Great Britain’s Samuel Dickinson who took the tape in 1:56:11, followed by France’s Raphael Montoya for silver in 1:56:22. Grant Sheldon, also of Great Britain, grabbed the last podium spot with a time of 1:56:40.
Chartier’s 33:53 run split was enough for a 13th-place finish in 1:58:14. His previous career-best ITU World Cup finish had been 28th, earned in 2017 in Salinas, Ecuador.
2019 Karlovy Vary ITU Triathlon World Cup
1,500m swim, 40.8k bike, 10k run
Elite Women — Complete Results
1. Vendula Frintova (CZE), 2:09:08
2. Tamara Gorman (Rapid City, S.D.), 2:09:12
3. Caroline Pohle (GER), 2:10:41
U.S. Finishers
2. Tamara Gorman (Rapid City, S.D.), 2:09:12
42. Rachel Pearson (Forest Park, Ill.), 2:27:53
Chelsea Burns (Seattle, Wash.), DNF
Elite Men — Complete Results
1. Samuel Dickinson (GBR), 1:56:11
2. Raphael Montoya (FRA), 1:56:22
3. Grant Sheldon (FBR), 1:56:40
U.S. Finishers
13. Collin Chartier (Fairfax, Va.), 1:58:14
About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,300 events and connects with more than 400,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work at the grassroots level with athletes, coaches, and race directors — as well as the USA Triathlon Foundation — USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of the ITU and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
