Brittany Dutton Claims Gold At Youth Olympics

Australia’s Brittany Dutton rode a gutsy solo bike breakaway to claim Youth Olympic gold in Nanjing on Sunday, Aug. 17, and continue Australia’s stellar success in women’s triathlon competition at the Olympic Games.

Australian women have now won a medal at every triathlon competition at the Olympic Games, including the inaugural Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

In hot and humid Nanjing, Dutton made her decisive break on the fourth and final lap of the 20km bike course and quickly put 20 seconds on the rest of the field. Despite a fast finish from the USA’s Stephanie Jenks, Dutton stayed strong and held on to win one of the first medals of the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

“It’s awesome, I still can’t believe it,” Dutton said. “Throughout the bike I could see maybe I might be able to get away so I tried it and I got away. On the run I just had to hold my lead and it worked.

“I have strong cycling background so I thought I would give it a go, had nothing to lose and I stayed away.”

With wet but humid conditions meeting the competitors, it was Japan’s Minami Kubono who led the non-wetsuit swim out of the water, and was followed by Dutton, Germany’s Kristin Ranwig, Great Britain’s Sian Rainsley and Venezuela’s Katherine Vanesa Clemant Materano. In the first lap, Spain’s Carmen Gomez Cortez bridged up to the leaders.

That group of six worked together strongly across the first two laps of the technical course in Nanjing, keeping a second group that included the USA’s Stephanie Jenks, New Zealand’s Elizabeth Stannard and France’s Emilie Morier a steady 20 seconds behind.

But on the fourth lap, Dutton decided to make a break and behind her the two chase groups merged. It put Jenks and Morier right back in with the leaders and they ran themselves onto the Youth Olympic podium.

Read more: Triathlon.org