Former Badger and Wisconsin native Gwen Jorgensen became the first American to win a gold medal in the women’s triathlon at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Jorgensen went to Waukesha South High School where she excelled at swimming and running. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she competed in track & field, cross country and swimming. In her time at Wisconsin, Jorgensen earned All-America honors in track and cross country, was the 2009 Big Ten Champion in the 5,000 m and the 3,000 m and qualified for the Big Ten Swimming Championship from 2007-2009. She also was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 2009, which the Big Ten recognizes as the athlete who “attains the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work.” Jorgensen was also a six-time Academic All-Big Ten choice recipient.
Jorgensen finished eighth in her first competitive triathlon in Clermont, Fla. according to her professional website. In that same year she was awarded the USA Triathlon Rookie of the Year and Elite Duathlete of the Year. In 2012 she competed for the U.S. Olympic Team in London. She finished 38th in the women’s triathlon due to a flat tire during the biking portion of the competition.
She was the ITU (International Triathlon Union’s) Series World Champion in 2014 and 2015. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Jorgensen finished first in the women’s triathlon, winning the first gold medal in a triathlon for the U.S. Her time was 1:56:16. Behind Jorgensen was Nicola Spirig of Switzerland with a time of 1:56:56 and Vicky Holland of Great Britain with a time of 1:57:01.
The triathlon consists of a 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike ride and 10 km run.
Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.