Triathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's

Women's triathlon
at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Women's triathlon; at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Venue	Odaiba Marine Park, Tokyo
Date	27 July 2021
Competitors	55 from 31 nations
Winning time	1:55:36
Medalists
	← 2016 2024 →

Last updated September 22, 2024

Over the course of the swimming and cycling legs, a select group of seven leading competitors had formed, including Bermudian Flora Duffy, Briton Georgia Taylor-Brown, and American Katie Zaferes. After distancing herself from Zaferes early on during the running leg, Duffy won the race and became Bermuda's first Olympic gold medalist.^[3]^[4] Taylor-Brown, who had suffered a puncture late in the cycling leg, passed several competitors during the running leg to finish second, over a minute behind Duffy, and claim the silver medal, while Zaferes hung on to complete the podium and claim the bronze medal.^[5]^[6]

Course

The event took place at the Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo Bay, and was 51.5 kilometres (32.0 mi) long, the "standard" or "Olympic" distance for a triathlon. Competitors began with a 1.5-kilometre (0.93 mi) swimming leg, consisting of a 950-metre (3,120 ft) lap followed by a shorter 550-metre (1,800 ft) lap. Then, they took on the 40-kilometre (25 mi) cycling leg, which covered eight laps of a 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) course. Finally, competitors finished with four laps of a 2.5-kilometre (1.6 mi) course that made up the 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) running leg. Between each leg, there was also a transition zone in which competitors must change equipment and clothing for the next leg.^[7]^[8]

Summary

Gold medalist Flora Duffy (shown here in 2015)

Silver medalist Georgia Taylor-Brown (shown here in 2013)

There were 55 competitors entered into the triathlon, but only 54 started the event; Ukraine's Yuliya Yelistratova did not start after being provisionally suspended.^[9] The field included then-reigning world champion Georgia Taylor-Brown of Great Britain, and her three immediate predecessors to that title, 2019 champion Katie Zaferes of the United States, 2018 world champion and compatriot Vicky Holland, and 2016 and 2017 champion Flora Duffy of Bermuda. American Gwen Jorgensen, who won the 2016 Olympic event, was not in the field to defend her title, having retired from the sport to focus on running,^[10]^[11] but her fellow podium finishers from 2016, silver medalist Holland and bronze medalist Switzerland's Nicola Spirig, both competed.^[2]

Heavy rain in the hours before the race delayed the start by at least fifteen minutes, and conditions remained wet during the race.^[12] On the first lap of the swimming leg, Jessica Learmonth of Great Britain established the pace. A lead group quickly formed in the water, with Learmonth followed closely by Americans Zaferes and Summer Rappaport, Vittoria Lopes of Brazil, Laura Lindemann of Germany, and Taylor-Brown. At the end of the swimming leg, the lead group of seven had built up an advantage of at least 30 seconds on the rest of the field, which was led out of the water by Emma Jeffcoat of Australia. At the end of the first cycling lap, the leaders' advantage had grown to over a minute ahead of a chase group of 14 that included Spirig, Holland, and the Dutch duo of Maya Kingma and Rachel Klamer. A lack of organization in the chase group left Spirig to lead the chase and reduce the deficit, but with little success. On the next lap, the chase group was reduced to 12, while Rappaport and Lopes were dropped from the lead group on the fourth and sixth laps, respectively. A puncture for Taylor-Brown near the end of the cycling leg saw her cede 20 seconds to the other four leaders heading into the second transition.^[5]^[6]

Duffy and Zaferes led at the start of the running leg, but by the end of the second lap, the Bermudian began to distance herself. Behind, Taylor-Brown overtook first Lindemann and then Learmonth before passing Zaferes with one lap to go. With a lead of over a minute, Duffy was able to celebrate her victory as she ran down the finishing straight, becoming Bermuda's first Olympic gold medalist. Taylor-Brown and Zaferes both finished over a minute behind Duffy but held on for the silver and bronze medals, respectively, while Lindemann and Learmonth were caught and passed by the faster runners of the chase group.^[3]^[5]^[6]

Results

Rank	#	Triathlete	Nation	Swimming	Cycling	Running	Total time	Difference
	29	Flora Duffy	Bermuda	18:32	1:02:49	33:00	1:55:36
	34	Georgia Taylor-Brown	Great Britain	18:31	1:03:11	33:52	1:56:50	+ 1:14
	14	Katie Zaferes	United States	18:28	1:02:51	34:27	1:57:03	+ 1:27
4	2	Rachel Klamer	Netherlands	19:17	1:03:05	34:09	1:57:48	+ 2:12
5	31	Léonie Périault	France	19:13	1:03:13	34:06	1:57:49	+ 2:13
6	26	Nicola Spirig	Switzerland	19:32	1:02:50	34:28	1:58:05	+ 2:29
7	54	Alice Betto	Italy	19:14	1:03:11	34:42	1:58:22	+ 2:46
8	10	Laura Lindemann	Germany	18:36	1:02:46	35:48	1:58:24	+ 2:48
9	33	Jessica Learmonth	Great Britain	18:24	1:02:56	35:51	1:58:28	+ 2:52
10	52	Valerie Barthelemy	Belgium	19:18	1:03:07	35:12	1:58:49	+ 3:13
11	1	Maya Kingma	Netherlands	19:20	1:03:03	35:36	1:59:16	+ 3:40
12	27	Zsanett Bragmayer	Hungary	19:19	1:03:07	36:18	2:00:00	+ 4:24
13	32	Vicky Holland	Great Britain	19:12	1:05:24	34:20	2:00:10	+ 4:34
14	12	Summer Rappaport	United States	18:29	1:03:58	36:35	2:00:19	+ 4:43
15	19	Amélie Kretz	Canada	19:39	1:04:56	34:41	2:00:33	+ 4:57
16	11	Taylor Knibb	United States	19:52	1:04:42	35:06	2:00:59	+ 5:23
17	7	Simone Ackermann	South Africa	19:08	1:03:37	37:30	2:01:14	+ 5:38
18	48	Yuko Takahashi	Japan	19:10	1:03:15	37:40	2:01:18	+ 5:42
19	25	Jolanda Annen	Switzerland	19:32	1:05:04	35:36	2:01:31	+ 5:55
20	56	Verena Steinhauser	Italy	19:42	1:04:52	35:56	2:01:47	+ 6:11
21	15	Miriam Casillas	Spain	19:46	1:04:50	36:00	2:01:52	+ 6:16
22	41	Melanie Santos	Portugal	19:32	1:05:07	36:13	2:02:06	+ 6:30
23	40	Carolyn Hayes	Ireland	20:10	1:06:04	34:43	2:02:10	+ 6:34
24	51	Lotte Miller	Norway	19:58	1:04:35	36:49	2:02:43	+ 7:07
25	23	Bárbara Riveros	Chile	19:45	1:04:54	36:49	2:02:46	+ 7:10
26	22	Emma Jeffcoat	Australia	19:06	1:03:18	39:13	2:02:57	+ 7:21
27	38	Lisa Perterer	Austria	20:03	1:06:14	35:26	2:03:00	+ 7:24
28	46	Vittória Lopes	Brazil	18:26	1:03:56	39:21	2:03:09	+ 7:33
29	50	Nicole van der Kaay	New Zealand	19:35	1:05:02	37:34	2:03:26	+ 7:50
30	4	Petra Kuříková	Czech Republic	19:55	1:06:26	36:32	2:04:10	+ 8:34
31	9	Anabel Knoll	Germany	20:05	1:06:14	37:11	2:04:45	+ 9:09
32	45	Luisa Baptista	Brazil	20:12	1:06:04	38:00	2:05:32	+ 9:56
33	24	Romina Biagioli	Argentina	20:09	1:06:06	40:06	2:07:42	+ 12:06
34	53	Claire Michel	Belgium	19:40	1:06:34	43:37	2:11:05	+ 15:29
	55	Angelica Olmo	Italy	20:15	1:06:01	Did Not Finish
	44	Elizabeth Bravo	Ecuador	20:15	Lapped^{[lower-alpha 1]}
	20	Ashleigh Gentle	Australia	20:07
	3	Vendula Frintová	Czech Republic	20:16
	21	Jaz Hedgeland	Australia	19:44
	16	Anna Godoy	Spain	20:12
	28	Zsófia Kovács	Hungary	20:30
	8	Gillian Sanders	South Africa	20:18
	43	Alexandra Razarenova	ROC	20:17
	18	Joanna Brown	Canada	19:15
	35	Zhong Mengying	China	19:53	Lapped^{[lower-alpha 2]}
	36	Kaidi Kivioja	Estonia	21:40
	17	Basmla ElSalamoney	Egypt	20:41
	5	Cecilia Pérez	Mexico	20:05	Did Not Finish^{[lower-alpha 3]}
	30	Cassandre Beaugrand	France	19:37	Did Not Finish
	49	Ainsley Thorpe	New Zealand	19:15	Did Not Finish^{[lower-alpha 4]}
	42	Anastasia Gorbunova	ROC	19:37
	47	Niina Kishimoto	Japan	19:48
	6	Claudia Rivas	Mexico	Did Not Finish
	37	Julia Hauser	Austria	Did Not Finish
	39	Yuliya Yelistratova	Ukraine	Did Not Start^{[lower-alpha 5]}
Sources: Official results^[1]^[9]^[13]^[14]

Notes

↑ Nine triathletes were lapped on the final lap of the cycling leg, as they did not reach the entrance to the corridor to transition 2 before the lead runner.^[9]
↑ Zhong, Kivioja, and ElSalamoney were lapped on the sixth lap of the cycling leg.^[9]
↑ Pérez suffered a flat tire on the fourth lap of the cycling lap. However, after she had the wheel replaced at the wheel station, she ultimately abandoned the race.^[9]
↑ Thorpe, Gorbunova, and Kishimoto all crashed on the first lap of the cycling leg and abandoned the race.^[3]^[9]
↑ Yelistratova did not start the race after being provisionally suspended.^[9]

Related Research Articles

Triathlon had its Summer Olympics debut at the 2000 Games, in Sydney, when men's and women's individual events were first held, and has been contested since then. In 2021, at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics a mixed team relay event was held for the first time. The sport, and its Olympic events, are governed by the International Triathlon Union, known since 2019 as World Triathlon.

Nicola Spirig Hug is a Swiss lawyer and former professional triathlete. She is the 2012 Olympic and six times European champion in women's triathlon.

The Triathlon competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics, in Beijing, were held on Monday, August 18 (women) and Tuesday, August 19 (men), on the Triathlon Venue at the Ming Tomb Reservoir in Shisanling.

Jonathan Callum Brownlee is an English professional duathlete and triathlete. He is a six-time World champion, and one-time Olympic champion in triathlon.

The Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Series 2011 was a series of six World Championship Triathlon events leading to a Grand Final held in Beijing, China in September 2011. The Series was organised under the auspices of the world governing body of triathlon, the International Triathlon Union (ITU), and was sponsored by Dextro Energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics</span>

The triathlon events at the 2012 Summer Olympics were held in Hyde Park in London, United Kingdom, with the women's triathlon held on 4 August and the men's on 7 August. 110 triathletes from 39 countries competed with 55 men and 55 women competing. The races were held over the "international distance" and consisted of 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) swimming, 43 kilometres (27 mi) road cycling, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) road running.

Dame Flora Jane Duffy is a Bermudian professional triathlete. She won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Bermuda's first gold medal. She also competed in the Beijing, London, and Rio de Janeiro Olympics. In 2018, she won gold in the women's triathlon at the XXI Commonwealth Games in Australia. She also won gold in the same event at the XXII Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.

Vicky Holland is a British triathlete who is part of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic team. Holland was the 2018 World Triathlon champion, the fourth British woman to win the title. She was also the first female triathlete to win an Olympic medal for Great Britain, a bronze in 2016, holding off housemate, compatriot and fellow world champion Non Stanford.

The men's triathlon was one of the triathlon events at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. It took place on 7 August 2012, featuring 55 men from 32 countries. It was the fourth appearance of an Olympic men's triathlon event since the first at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The race was around Hyde Park, a 1.42 km² park in central London. The race was held over the "international distance" and consisted of 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) swimming, 42.959 kilometres (26.693 mi) road cycling, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) road running.

The women's triathlon was one of the triathlon events at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. It took place on 4 August 2012, featuring 55 women from 31 countries. It was the fourth appearance of an Olympic women's triathlon event since the first at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The race was around Hyde Park, a 1.42 km² park in central London. The race was held over the "international distance" and consisted of 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) swimming, 43 kilometres (27 mi) road cycling, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) road running.

Katie Zaferes is an American professional triathlete from Hampstead, Maryland. She earned a silver and bronze medal for the United States in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic triathlon held in 2021. She is also the 2019 ITU World Triathlon Series women's champion. She has placed second overall in the 2018 ITU World Triathlon Series and third in the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Series. Zaferes won both the 2018 and 2019 Super League Triathlon Championship Series. She finished in 3rd position in the series in 2021.

Jessica Learmonth is a British triathlete. Learmonth is a European, Commonwealth, Olympic and World Triathlon Series medal winner based in Leeds, England where she trains at the Leeds Triathlon Centre. She won the European Triathlon Championship in 2017 and took silver in 2018. She competed in the women's event and the mixed relay at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, winning silver medals in both disciplines. Learmonth won silver in the 2019 World Triathlon Series.

The 2019 ITU World Triathlon Series was the 11th season of the World Triathlon Series, the top level international series for triathlon, since its establishment in 2009. The season consisted of eight pairs of triathlon races for both a men's and woman's competition, beginning on 8 March in Abu Dhabi, and concluding on 1 September with the grand final at Lausanne, Switzerland. The season also contained five mixed relays as part of the Mixed Relay Series which offers national teams qualifying points for the mixed team relay event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Taylor-Brown</span> British triathlete

Georgia Taylor-Brown is an English professional triathlete. Having won bronze in the 2018 and 2019 World Triathlon Series, Taylor Brown won the one-off sprint triathlon race in Hamburg that constituted the 2020 World Triathlon Championship, becoming the fifth British woman to become world champion.

supertri is a league of nonstandard triathlon-based races held in the traditional off-season of the sport. Every race involves a swim, bike and run element but all contain additional rules in an aim to test athletic ability, increase viewer excitement and increase the popularity of triathlon more globally.

Alexander Amos Yee is a British professional triathlete and distance runner. He won the gold medal in the Men's Triathlon at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the silver medal in the same event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the gold medal in the Triathlon Mixed Relay at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and the bronze medal in the same event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. With two golds, one silver, and one bronze medal, Yee is the most successful triathlete in Olympic history.

The men's triathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place at the Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo on 26 July 2021.

The 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series was the 13th season of the World Triathlon Championship Series, the top level international series for triathlon, since its establishment in 2009. The season consisted of four pairs of triathlon races for both a men's and women's competition, beginning on May 15 in Yokohama, and concluding on August 21 with the grand final in Edmonton. The series calendar also included the 2020 Summer Olympics individual races on July 26 and 27 and mixed relay event on July 31.

The Mixed relay triathlon at the 2024 Summer Olympics took place at the Pont Alexandre III in Paris on 5 August 2024. The mixed team event features teams of four. Each athlete swims 300 m (330 yd), cycles 8 km (5.0 mi), and runs 2 km (1.2 mi) in a relay format.

References

1 2 "Triathlon - Results". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
1 2 "Start List" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics . Omega SA. 25 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
1 2 3 Vaughan, Roger (26 July 2021). "Triathlete becomes instant national hero with their country's FIRST EVER Olympic gold medal". Seven News . Seven West Media. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
↑ Maine, D'Arcy (26 July 2021). "Flora Duffy wins women's triathlon at Tokyo Games to give Bermuda first gold medal in Olympics history". ESPN . Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
1 2 3 Philipps, Mitch (26 July 2021). "Oympics [sic] - Triathlon - Dominant Duffy wins famous gold for Bermuda". Reuters . Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
1 2 3 Gray, Doug (27 July 2021). "Olympic Champion: Flora Duffy realises Olympic destiny at Tokyo 2020". World Triathlon. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
↑ "Triathlon". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
↑ "Everything you need to know about Olympic Triathlon at Tokyo 2020". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. 3 March 2021. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Race Facts" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics . Omega SA. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
↑ Zaccardi, Nick (4 December 2019). "Gwen Jorgensen, Olympic triathlon champion, to focus on track trials". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
↑ Snyder, Paul (7 November 2017). "America's Next Great Marathoner? Triathlon Champ Gwen Jorgensen Going for Gold". Runner's World . Hearst. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
↑ Phillips, Mitch (26 July 2021). "Triathlon-Storm delays start of women's race". Reuters . Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
↑ "Results" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics . Omega SA. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
↑ "Race Analysis" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics . Omega SA. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[lapped-eight-13] Nine triathletes were lapped on the final lap of the cycling leg, as they did not reach the entrance to the corridor to transition 2 before the lead runner.^[9]

[lapped-three-14] Zhong, Kivioja, and ElSalamoney were lapped on the sixth lap of the cycling leg.^[9]

[15] Pérez suffered a flat tire on the fourth lap of the cycling lap. However, after she had the wheel replaced at the wheel station, she ultimately abandoned the race.^[9]

[lap-one-16] Thorpe, Gorbunova, and Kishimoto all crashed on the first lap of the cycling leg and abandoned the race.^[3]^[9]

[17] Yelistratova did not start the race after being provisionally suspended.^[9]

[olympic-res-1] 1 2 "Triathlon - Results". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.

[start-list-2] 1 2 "Start List" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics . Omega SA. 25 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.

[7news-3] 1 2 3 Vaughan, Roger (26 July 2021). "Triathlete becomes instant national hero with their country's FIRST EVER Olympic gold medal". Seven News . Seven West Media. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.

[4] Maine, D'Arcy (26 July 2021). "Flora Duffy wins women's triathlon at Tokyo Games to give Bermuda first gold medal in Olympics history". ESPN . Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.

[reuters-5] 1 2 3 Philipps, Mitch (26 July 2021). "Oympics [sic] - Triathlon - Dominant Duffy wins famous gold for Bermuda". Reuters . Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.

[triathlon-6] 1 2 3 Gray, Doug (27 July 2021). "Olympic Champion: Flora Duffy realises Olympic destiny at Tokyo 2020". World Triathlon. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.

[7] "Triathlon". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.

[8] "Everything you need to know about Olympic Triathlon at Tokyo 2020". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. 3 March 2021. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.

[race-facts-9] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Race Facts" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics . Omega SA. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.

[10] Zaccardi, Nick (4 December 2019). "Gwen Jorgensen, Olympic triathlon champion, to focus on track trials". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.

[11] Snyder, Paul (7 November 2017). "America's Next Great Marathoner? Triathlon Champ Gwen Jorgensen Going for Gold". Runner's World . Hearst. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2021.

[12] Phillips, Mitch (26 July 2021). "Triathlon-Storm delays start of women's race". Reuters . Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.

[results-18] "Results" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics . Omega SA. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.

[race-analysis-19] "Race Analysis" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics . Omega SA. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[lower-alpha 1]

[lower-alpha 2]

[lower-alpha 3]

[lower-alpha 4]

[lower-alpha 5]

[13]

[14]