St. Paul Native Wins US First Gold For Triathlon Event

A St. Paul resident is now an Olympic Gold Medal winner.

Olympian Gwen Jorgensen captured her first gold medal in the triathlon, the first United States gold in this event since it became in Olympic sport in 2000. Jorgensen won the gold after coming in on top for the women’s individual triathlon event on Saturday morning.

Jorgensen won the event with a time of 1:56:16, which is both a first for her as well as first for the United States.  The Rio triathlon, according to NBC, consists of a 1.5km swim, 40 km of biking and a 10 km run.

Jorgensen set a record with 13 consecutive victories in the International Triathlon Union’s (ITU) World Triathlon Series from May 17, 2014 to April 3.

Jorgensen has dominated in the triathlon, winning all but two individual races since April 2014.

Donna Azarian