Published August 23, 2014 01:20PM
Sarah Groff Gets First WTS Win
Sarah Groff claimed her first WTS win and propelled herself to second in the overall series rankings today in Stockholm.
Sarah Groff celebrates the big victory. Photo: Janos Schmidt/Triathlon.org
In the penultimate race of the 2014 ITU World Triathlon Series, Sarah Groff (USA) claimed her first WTS win and propelled herself to second in the overall series rankings. New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt and Nicky Samuels took silver and bronze, respectively.
Read the recap from Triathlon.org below:
Starting with a chilly one-lap 750m swim, Groff asserted herself as a medal contender straight away when she positioned herself just behind Great Britain’s Lucy Hall. As the pack thinned out, Hall led the women out of the water and up the hill to transition.
But it was Groff who crossed the mount line first, followed by a powerful pack of cyclists. With another 10 riders in tow, the ladies set out to distance themselves from the field, which included Hewitt, Samuels, Kirsten Sweetland (CAN) and Lindsay Jerdonek (USA) amongst others.
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Behind them, the formerly second-ranked Jodie Stimpson (GBR) struggled out of the swim to miss both the lead and chase group on the bike. The pack worked together to increase their advantage again and again as they passed in front of the grand stands. Groff dropped off her bike and hammered out of T2 just steps in front of Anja Knapp (GER) and Jerdonek.
Jerdonek followed Groff for an early break on the two-lap 5km run over centuries-old cobblestones, but Jerdonek was soon overtaken by Sweetland, Samuels and Hewitt. The Kiwis and Canadian ran shoulder to shoulder on the final lap, jockeying for the two open podium positions.
While they kept Groff in sight, she was too powerful in the end as she cinched up the win in 1:03:00. In a final kick, Hewitt crossed over four seconds later in front of Samuels, who took the bronze. Groff’s win now puts her 55 points ahead of Stimpson in the Threadneedle rankings headed into the World Championship title race next Saturday.
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Read more: Triathlon.org
2014 World Triathlon Stockholm
Stockholm, Sweden – Aug. 23, 2014
750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run
1. Sarah Groff USA 1:03:00
2. Andrea Hewitt NZL 1:03:04
3. Nicky Samuels NZL 1:03:05
4. Kirsten Sweetland CAN 1:03:10
5. Lindsey Jerdonek USA 1:03:23
6. Anja Knapp GER 1:03:56
7. Katie Hursey USA 1:04:04
8. Charlotte Bonin ITA 1:04:07
9. Lucy Hall GBR 1:04:08
10. Carolina Routier ESP 1:04:09