Gomez And Jorgensen Take $60K Wins At Island House

Published November 8, 2015 05:01PM

Gwen Jorgensen and Javier Gomez add another champion title to their names at the conclusion of the Island House Invitational Triathlon. Recap the rest of the three-day action here.

The three-day cumulative event at the Island House Invitational Triathlon in the Bahamas ended with the same leaders it started with, coming down to a non-draft sprint today. Although it was Lisa Norden and Cam Dye who had the fastest times for the sprint distance today (750m swim, 20K bike, 5K run), the overall times determined the winners of the entire event and the new owner of a $60,000 check and champion title.

The race start times were determined by the overall general classification, which combined Friday’s individual time trial prologue and yesterday’s Enduro Olympic race (3x swim, bike, run). That meant Jorgensen and Gomez both went off first, while others waited on shore for their times to be called.

These were the deficits the athletes started at and what they would have to overcome in order to cross the line first:

Women’s start deficits
Gwen Jorgensen
Flora Duffy + :41
Lisa Norden + 1:03
Alicia Kaye + 2:40
Rachel Klamer + 3:09
Heather Wurtele + 6:30
Rachel Joyce + 6:45
Mirinda Carfrae + 7:00
Lauren Brandon + 7:08
Leanda Cave +7:44

Men’s start deficits
Javier Gomez
Richard Murray + :58
Tim Don + 1:20
Leon Griffin + 3:21
Ben Hoffman + 3:37
Cam Dye + 4:00
Luke McKenzie + 6:28
Trevor Wurtele +7:32
Barrett Brandon +7:57
Tim O’Donnell + 11:06

On the women’s side, the top three contenders started within about a minute of each other, while the bottom five athletes—the long-course specialists—had a race within a race, starting more than six minutes off Jorgensen. Jorgensen remained untouched throughout the swim, but once out on the bike, Norden charged hard on the non-draft course, biking a 33:33 to Jorgensen’s 34:47, and got onto the run course first.

The 5K was a tricky mix of soft and hard sand, rocky beach entrances and hills, and there was a little bit of back and forth between the two top ITU athletes throughout the out-and-back course. Jorgensen’s run is nearly impossible to beat, and ultimately she passed Norden to cross the line first—although Norden actually won the stage by 30 seconds—and remain the overall winner. “I think this is the hardest race I’ve ever done but also the most fun,” Jorgensen said after the race. “It’s a beautiful island and the scenery is amazing, which I think helps when you’re that tired. I’m really shocked I got the win but I’m so excited.”

Norden, who has not been able to run consistently throughout the year due to injury, seemed to surprise even herself with pulling out such great performances throughout the weekend. “I felt surprisingly good today—I had a tough year with a lot of injuries, and it’s been hard to string together proper training,” she said. “But it’s like I was getting stronger and stronger throughout these stages and I woke up today feeling the best I have all year, which I guess was good timing.”

Flora Duffy’s third-place finish overall and today is incredibly impressive considering that she won the XTERRA World Championship a week ago in Maui.

The men had a similar situation heading into the non-draft sprint, with dominant Gomez leading the way with two speedy contenders within 90 seconds of him to enter the swim. Gomez extended his lead in the swim with a 9:18 over the 750 meters, and held the others off during the bike course. Behind him, Cam Dye was working his way up with the fastest bike split of the day, which was where he put in enough power to win the overall stage (but cross the line in fourth). Gomez was skillful on the technical 5K course and earned the run premium for his 14:43 run split. Murray finished behind him and maintained his second overall position; Tim Don finished fifth in the sprint race behind Leon Griffin, but kept his third place as well.

“i gave my best and I’m sure the others did as well. We are professionals and when we got on a start line, we race hard,” Gomez said. “This is a very unique experience and we never get to race in a place like this—it was amazing.”

Final Results, General Classification
1. Gwen Jorgensen 3:27:47
2. Lisa Norden + :34
3. Flora Duffy + 1:06
4. Alicia Kaye + 3:37
5. Rachel Klamer + 3:57
6. Heather Wurtele + 7:44
7. Mirinda Carfrae + 8:37
8. Lauren Brandon + 8:54
9. Rachel Joyce, + 10:12
10. Leanda Cave +10:43

1. Javier Gomez 3:08:21
2. Richard Murray + 1:22
3. Tim Don + 2:52
4. Cam Dye + 3:38
5. Leon Griffin + 4:34
6. Ben Hoffman + 5:52
7. Luke McKenzie + 8:36
8. Trevor Wurtele +10:19
9. Barrett Brandon +11:08
10. Tim O’Donnell +15:51