OLYMPIC PREVIEW HANDICAPPING THE FIELD
behind Jenkins in San Diego. Joining Densham in
London
will be her countrywomen Emma Moff att, who won bronze in Beijing, and Emma Jackson, the 2010 U23 world champion. While both women have recently raced inconsistently, they should never be counted out. Canada’s Paula Findlay has also
asked that she not be counted out for London despite revealing in April that she has a hip injury that will eventually require surgery. Indeed, the youngster who won six World Triathlon Series races from 2010 to 2011 would be a near-lock for gold if it weren’t for this untimely injury. Other athletes to consider include
Gomez and the Brownlees are triathletes with no weak disciplines. PHOTO BY DELLY CARR/ITU While Alistair is said to be
recovering well from the injury, and while he’s demonstrated before that winter injuries do little to hamper his late-season races, the announcement
just goes to show
that nothing is settled until the top three cross the line in London. And there are plenty of guys who
could upset the Big Three, including double Olympic medalists and crafty veterans Simon Whitfi eld and Bevan Docherty, reigning Olympic champ Jan Frodeno of Germany, 2004 silver medalist Sven Riederer of Switzerland, upstart Spanish athlete Mario Mola, super cyclist Alexander Bryukhankov of Russia, veteran Kiwi Kris Gemmell, French stars David Hauss and Laurent Vidal, Australian athletes Brad Kahlefeldt and Brendan Sexton, Richard Murray of South Africa, and several others, including the Americans. “Thirty of the 55 men who line
up in London are legitimate medal contenders,” said USA Triathlon High Performance General Manager Andy Schmitz.
58 USA TRIATHLON SUMMER 2012 Tune in Aug. 7 to fi nd out who
transforms the label “contender” into “medalist.”
VEGAS ODDS Given the unpredictability
of Olympic triathlon and that the women’s fi eld doesn’t have a dominant athlete, forecasting who’ll go one-two-three in London on the women’s side is akin to cashing in big at a Las Vegas casino. Great Britain’s Helen Jenkins will
be the home favorite, as she won the Olympic test event in August and is the reigning and two-time world champion. Plus she’s started off the year well with a silver at the World Triathlon Series race in Sydney and a win at the WTS event in San Diego. But there are plenty of women
who could give Jenkins a run for her money, including Kiwi Andrea Hewitt, who outsprinted Jenkins to the line at the 2011 Beijing Grand Final, and Australia’s Erin Densham, who beat both Jenkins and Hewitt in her dominant win in Sydney and who secured silver
Lisa Norden of Sweden, Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig, Great Britain’s Vicky Holland, Ireland’s Aileen Morrison, Barbara Riveros Diaz of Chile, Ai Ueda of Japan, Spain’s Ainhoa Murua, the entire German, Kiwi, French, and American teams, and several others. “ITU races normally involve uncertainty,” said
a degree of
American medal contender Sarah Groff . “But given how much is at stake, the end result [in London] will be even more unpredictable.”
Great Britain’s Helen Jenkins will be the home favorite in London but Australia’s Erin Densham, back, also has been in winning form in 2012. PHOTO BY RICH CRUSE/ITU
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