But it was Pooley who controlled the women’s race from line to line. The 31-year-old was leading in the first 10km run, together with Hrebec. Trailing just seconds behind was German Julia Villehner and Susanne Svendsen from Denmark.
But the hunt for gold came to a hault for the rest of the field when powerful cyclist Pooley clocked a 16 minute advantage on the 150km bike. Hrebec held on to her second-place position off the bike, while the 2013 champ Nystrom trailed 23 minutes.
Pooley continued to power ahead, sailing over the finish line half an hour ahead of the competition despite stopping for a bathroom pit stop off the bike.
“I had to go to the toilette urgently and spent there a minute,“ said Pooley, who won silver in the time trial at the 2008 Olympic Games.
While Nyström couldn’t defend her title, she scooped up silver despite not knowing the day before the race if she could start because of a cold.
“I had big problems with the heat, I had a sore throat and I had to struggle towards the end of the race,” Nystrom said. “Emma Pooley’s victory was clear already at the end of the cycling session. On the final 30 running kilometers I suddenly got new energy and I could realise second place in the end which makes me very happy.”
Astonishing, as well, was the performance of Hrebec who eventually finished third. The 37-years-old is a running expert, having won the Geneva marathon last year. Hrebec started in Zofingen for the first time and jumped on the podium straight away.
