Jorgensen 14th at NYC Marathon
Gwen Jorgensen, the 2016 Olympic Women’s Triathlon gold medalist, finished 14th in a time of 2:41:01 in her debut at the distance at the New York City Marathon on Sunday.
Jorgensen averaged 6:08.7 per mile, finishing 16:35 behind women’s winner Mary Keitany of Kenya. Jorgensen was the 8th American woman, 12:48 behind top U.S. woman Molly Huddle, who finished 3rd today and was 6th place finisher at the Rio Olympics women’s 10,000 meter run with a time of 30:13.17.
The top 10 U.S. women included: Molly Huddle (3rd place 2:28:13), Diane Nukuri (5th place 2:33:04), Neeley Gracey (8th place 2:34:55), Sara Hall (9th place 2:36:12), Ayantu Dakebo Hailemaryam (10th place 2:37:07), Esther Atkins (11th place 2:37:07), Dot McMahan (12th place 2:38:46), Gwen Jorgensen (14th place 2:41:01), Kim Conley (16th place 2:41:38), and Hillary Dionne (18th place 2:45:31).
Jorgensen, the dominating runner for the last 3 years in the women’s elite World Triathlon Series, has a World Triathlon Series 10k PR under 32 minutes. Prior to the Rio Olympics, Jorgensen’s longest run had been 10 miles. In her 77-day run up to the New York City Marathon, Jorgensen cautiously increased her long run to approximately 30 kilometers.
Jorgensen ran in 14th place during the early miles, advanced to 13th after 1 hour 10 minutes, got as high as 12th at the 30 kilometer mark, and settled back to 14th at the end.
As the race progressed, Jorgensen’s 10k splits revealed her relatively short period of increased training mileage. Jorgensen completed the first 10k in 36:05, the second 10k in 35:33, the third 10k in 38:36, and the fourth 10k in 40:55.
Jorgensen’s performance in New York City came one week after her victory at the 3-day Island House Invitational Triathlon in the Bahamas.
Jorgensen’s finish was a close second for women triathletes in the New York City Triathlon. Desiree Ficker, who finished 2nd at the 2006 Ironman World Championship, finished 10th at the 2009 New York City Marathon in a time of 2:39:30 and won $500. Unlike Jorgensen, Ficker was a marathon veteran at the time, having competed at the 2008 Olympic trials and with a previous marathon PR of 2:40:28.
Another New York City Marathon triathlete finisher, noted pro Chris Legh of Lyons, Colorado, age 43, finished in 2:34:19.
