Sarah Groff (USA) golden in penultimate World Triathlon Series race in Stockholm
Stockholm, Sweden (23 August 2014) -
In the penultimate race of the 2014 ITU World Triathlon Series, Sarah Groff (USA) secured critical points with wins at the World Triathlon Stockholm on Saturday to inch both of them closer to World Championship success. Their wins come just one week ahead of the final race of the season, which will decide the 2014 ITU World Champions.
Women's Review Starting with a chilly one-lap 750m swim, Groff asserted herself as a medal contender straight away when she positioned herself just behind Great Britain's Lucy Hall. As the pack thinned out, Hall led the women out of the water and up the hill to transition.
But it was Groff who crossed the mount line first, followed by a powerful pack of cyclists. With another 10 riders in tow, the ladies set out to distance themselves from the field, which included Hewitt, Samuels, Kirsten Sweetland (CAN), and Lindsay Jerdonek (USA) amongst others.
Behind them, the formerly second-ranked Jodie Stimpson (GBR) struggled out of the swim to miss both the lead and chase group on the bike. The the pack worked together to increase their advantage again and again as they passed in front of the grand stands. Groff dropped off her bike and hammered out of T2 just steps in front of Anja Knapp (GER) and Jerdonek.
Jerdonek followed Groff for an early break on the two-lap 5km run over centuries-old cobblestones, but Jerdonek was soon overtaken by Sweetland, Samuels & Hewitt. The Kiwis and Canadian ran shoulder to shoulder on the final lap, jockeying for the two open podium positions.
While they kept Groff in sight, she was too powerful in the end as she cinched up the win in 1:03:00. In a final kick, Hewitt crossed over four seconds later in front of Samuels, who took the bronze. Groff's win now puts her 55 points ahead of Stimpson in the Threadneedle rankings headed into the World Championship title race next Saturday. Click here for the full review
2014 World Triathlon Hamburg - 23 July 750m swim - 20km bike - 5km run - Final Results - Elite Women
1. Sarah Groff USA 01:03:00 2. Andrea Hewitt NZL 01:03:04 3. Nicky Samuels NZL 01:03:05 4. Kirsten Sweetland CAN 01:03:10 5. Lindsey Jerdonek USA 01:03:23 6. Anja Knapp GER 01:03:56 7. Katie Hursey USA 01:04:04 8. Charlotte Bonin ITA 01:04:07 9. Lucy Hall GBR 01:04:08 10. Carolina Routier ESP 01:04:09
