Katie Zaferes wins GF and WTS World Championship.
Katie Zaferes of the United States broke away from a race long duel with Jessica Learmonth and Georgia Taylor-Brown of Great Britain, sprinting away with 200 meters to go to win the WTS Grand Final race at Lausanne and with it the 2019 WTS season-long World Championship points battle.
Bouncing back from a bike crash at the Tokyo Olympic test event two weeks ago that left her with a broken nose and 23 stitches, and a bike crash at WTS Hamburg in July, Zaferes faultlessly navigated the sunny, dry streets of Lausanne to stay near the front of the swim and bike legs before engaging in a three-woman duel for the Grand Final gold.
Zaferes ran side by side with Learmonth and Georgia Taylor-Brown all through the run until she ignited with 200 meters to go. Zaferes ran a race-best 35:45 10k to finish in 2:02:45 with a 4 seconds margin of victory over Learmonth (35:521 run split) and 18 seconds over 3rd place finisher Georgia Taylor-Brown.
Facing her two latest mishaps, Zaferes blocked out any negative thoughts to regain the faultless dominance of the WTS series with which she attacked the 2019 season.
“I don’t even know if it has hit me yet,” she told ITU media after the race. “I had a lot of emotions and doubts coming in to this race but I’m just really happy right now. I worked really hard to get in the mental frame, I knew physically I was in the right frame, so I didn’t let it get to me too much. I’m just out there enjoying it and enjoying the process, and to do it on this course is amazing.”
Zaferes achieved a remarkable dominance the equal of any women triathlete in the ITU short course elite competition, winning four gold and one silver medal in the seven race series before entering the Grand Final start line at Lausanne – and concluding with a triumphant fifth gold on Saturday.
Zaferes arrived at the top step of the Lausanne podium at the end of a remarkably linear five-year progression. In 2015, Zaferes finished 5th. In 2016 she finished 4th. In 2017 she finished 3rd and last year she came heartbreakingly close before settling for 2nd at the 2018 WTS season finale.
Zaferes is now the 5th U.S. woman to earn the ITU primarily Olympic distance World Championship. In the one-day ITU World Championship format, Karen Smyers won in 1990 and 1995, Siri Lindley won in 2001 and Sheila Taormina won in 2004. In the modern era of World Triathlon Series season-long points competition, Gwen Jorgensen won in 2014 and 2015 and now Zaferes has done it as well.
Zaferes took the series win with a point total of 6,175, 849 ahead of Learmonth and 984 ahead of Taylor-Brown.
Race recap
Learmonth led the swim with an 18:58 split that gave her a 1 second lead on Vittoria Lopes of Brazil, 3 seconds on Taylor Spivey of the U.S., 6 seconds on Sophie Coldwell of Great Britain, 8 seconds on Georgia Taylor-Brown of the U.K. and Summer Rappaport of the U.S. Learmonth also led Zaferes and two-time WTS World Champion Flora Duffy of Bermuda by 17 seconds and Olympic gold and silver medalist Nicola Spirig of Switzerland by 51 seconds.
Starting the bike leg through Lausanne’s hilly streets, Duffy, Zaferes, Learmonth, Coldwell, Spivey and Lopes made a break. After 12 kilometers of the 40-kilometer bike leg, strong cyclists Spirig, Taylor Knibb of the U.S. and Vicky Holland of Great Britain pushed hard. They drew within 30 seconds of the leaders but just failed to complete the bridge.
By T2, Duffy powered Learmonth, Zaferes, Taylor-Brown and Lopes into T2 with a 50 seconds lead on the chase pack.
Once on the run, Zaferes, Learmonth, Taylor-Brown and Lopes led the chasers including Rachel Klamer of Netherlands, Laura Lindemann of Germany and Annamaria Mazzetti of Italy.
Lopes faded first, then Duffy, who has not recovered full fitness from injuries, slowly slipped further away from the leaders.
With three left for the medals, Taylor-Brown was first to fade – at the big climb early on the run loop. For a time, Learmonth looked the fresher, but with 200 meters to go, Zaferes put the pedal to the metal and hit the finish carpet with enough margin to savor her moment.
“I can’t believe it,” Learmonth told ITU media. “The swim went well, and then on the bike we worked really well together. I thought everyone was with me, so I just got my head down and went for it. Then on the run I was trying to keep up with Katie but then at some point she went off and I couldn’t keep up.”
“The bike was hard, really hard,” Taylor- Brown told ITU media. “The first lap I thought ‘I can’t do any more of this.’ I just hung in. Today I couldn’t give anything anymore but I’m so happy for Jess. I was rooting for her to take the win. Still, to get silver in the Series is incredible and I am happy to be standing on the podium beside her.”
WTS Grand Final
Lausanne, Switzerland
August 31, 2019
S 1.5 k / B 40k / R 10k
Results
Elite Women
1. Katie Zaferes (USA) 2:02:45 S 19:15 T1 00:39 B 1:06:39 T2 00:29 R 35:45
2. Jessica Learmonth (GBR) 2:02:49 S 18:59 T1 00:39 B 1:06:55 T2 00:28 R 35:51
3. Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) 2:03:03 S 19:06 T1 00:40 B 1:06:47 T2 00:30 R 36:02
4. Rachel Klamer (NED) 2:03:44 S 19:47 T1 00:42 B 1:06:54 T2 00:25 R 35:58
5. Flora Duffy (BER) 2:04:26 S 19:15 T1 00:42 B 1:06:35 T2 00:26 R 37:29
6. Laura Lindemann (GER) 2:04:41 S 19:24 T1 00:41 B 1:07:19 T2 00:26 R 36:52
7. Annamaria Mazzetti (ITA) 2:04:51 S 19:55 T1 00:38 B 1:06:51 T2 00:27 R 37:01
8. Alice Betto (ITA) 2:05:11 S 19:29 T1 00:40 B 1:07:15 T2 00:29 R 37:20
9. Taylor Spivey (USA) 2:05:40 S 19:01 T1 00:42 B 1:07:41 T2 00:31 R 37:47
10. Nicola Spirig (SUI) 2:05:53 S 19:49 T1 00:46 B 1:06:47 T2 00:27 R 38:04
14. Taylor Knibb (USA) 2:07:10 S 20:03 T1 00:42 B 1:08:31 T2 00:32 R 37:23
16. Summer Rappaport (USA) 2:07:44 S 19:06 T1 00:42 B 1:11:14 t2 00:30 r 36:14
21. Tamara Gorman (USA) 2:09:02 S N/A T1 N/A B N/A T2 N/A R 37:32
DNF Chelsea Burns (USA) S 19:51 T1 00:42
DNS Kirsten Kasper (USA)
WTS Final Standings – Women
1. Katie Zaferes (USA) 6175
2. Jessica Learmonth (GBR) 5326
3. Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) 6191
4. Taylor Spivey (USA) 4651
5. Summer Rappaport (USA) 3589
6. Rachel Klamer (NED) 3586
7. Non Stanford (GBR) 3425
8. Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA) 2548
9. Annamaria Mazzetti (ITA) 2456
10. Laura Lindemann (GER) 2427
