Comeback of Gwen Jorgensen - the "best triathlete in history" - has begun. 3rd in N. Zealand. What does this mean for Paris?

2nd place at Americas Cup in Missouri yesterday to Katie Zaferes. Zaferes raced from the front the entire way, gapped the field by 25s on the swim. The good news for Gwen is that she hung in the swim/bike packs and then ran great. Americas Cups are the 3rd tier of pro draft legal (WCTS/World Cup/Continental Cup) racing so a good result was expected. 50s back of Zaferes at the end. 30+ seconds up on 3rd.

How good are the people she beat?

Kind of tried to list it out above (& at other points in this thread). Everyone is a pro but this is the lowest level of the pro draft legal circuit. But the middle and top level blur a bit since there are only a handful of the top level races. Most fields at the middle level are pretty close to the top level since a lot of the top athletes do those races too.

I think we can say it's good that she was a clear 2nd to a really good athlete. It seems like she is continuing to build momentum & is trending in the right direction. She has been placing relatively better in each race compared to the last.

Gwen got completely outclassed by Zaferes. The swim level of the chase pack was low, as was the bike pack. In the end Gwen didn't even run well, a MEX athlete that ended up being DQed for not serving a penalty ran 20sec faster than Gwen. Zaferes just had to jog in the run to win. It might be time for Gwen to start being worried.

I think she is already quite worried. In her last video, if I understood correctly, she was not sure what to do next. I think she knows that she will not be qualified for Paris Olympics and then 2028 will be too late.

2nd @ Huatulco

Off the back at the highest level.

2nd @ a World Cup is showing some good progress. She beat World #'s 21, 40, 43, plus a lot of people ranked in the 50s/60s including Katie Zaferes. The sprint distance is her friend rn. She had a top-10 swim, everyone rode together, and then she had the 2nd fastest run split to the winner.

The next several WTCS races are sprint races but she's gonna need some people to scratch to get in.

No measure. She can't swim 1500m with the best. Her swim fitness is found out after 750m.

Yes, the next ones are sprints. She'll have better odds with a fudged 750m swim. That's no reason for USAT to bump higher ranked Americans who are better 1500m swimmers at the moment from WTCS starts. This is the political problem Gwen's comeback presents. She needs to be left off start lists for WTCS races and cut her teeth at world cups until she can swim again. It's fair to others.

Just try to look at it with a glass half full attitude & without the hate for her for whatever reason. She just beat 2 very good Americans over the sprint distance. Who is to say that she can't get her 1500 competitive by the end of the season. The point of saying that the next few big races are at the sprint distance is because she can continue to do well if she gets into those races. There's nothing political about it. Her World Ranking isn't good enough to bump the current top-5 Americans but she just finished 2nd at a competitive World Cup. Her teeth are cut. She'll get in from the wait list with some help -- currently sitting at 6th & 36th for the next 2 races but her World Ranking should go up after yesterday & that will change. I agree that she needs to prove herself over the Olympic Distance at the World Cup level. I think she will. US is just stacked rn. That doesn't have to be framed as a knock on her.

She should not be getting WTCS starts before higher ranked Americans. If others don't vie for the WTCS starts, then let her in. That's how it works. If not, she'll have to scrap at world cups to try to outrank those rightfully racing WTCS.

Gwen won the Valencia World Cup this past weekend beating the World #'s 12, 15, 17, 29, 30, among others. That's a really big result. A lot of those women she beat had solid results at the Paris Test event. The 2nd place finisher got 6th there.

She still doesn't carry a high world ranking but has climbed up to 80. I think the 3 Americans in the top-10 on the rankings list deserve the Olympic spots but Gwen is making an argument for a discretionary spot after this W. If she podiums in Karlovy Vary & in Pontevedra (currently on wait list) who knows what the selection committee will do. She's currently 8th on points so that needs to change, & it would with good results at these two races.

Back 2 back...

Gwen grabs another World Cup W @ Karlovy Vary today!

Beat #'s 15, 26, 27, 28, 36, 39, & more.

she is racing junior and B level athletes in those back to back wins. You have to be top 2/3 in A level no matter what.

I mean that's not true at all -- I've listed women solidly in the top-30 that she's beaten, almost all who will be 2024 Olympians.

She's now up to 52nd in the rankings & should get into the last big race of the season (Pontevedra), which is a WTCS (highest level) race. But to your point she'll get a crack at the best competition when she's her most fit/race ready. The Olympic distance should benefit her too.

Gwen update: has moved all the way up to 30th in the world & 5th American after winning 2 World Cups & finishing 2nd at another in the past few weeks. She crushed the World Cup scene, with 4 wins & 2 2nds this season. 5th American is huge because now she'll be able to start any WTCS level races next year. She'll have an opportunity to race US Olympic selection events next year. There's a path for her to make the team.

Thanks Gwen.

Who are you again?

Love to hear from the folks who said this this road was hopeless for her? Surely we can now expect nothing but well-wishes and support going forward. Surely.