COZUMEL, Mexico -- In pursuit of her third straight ITU World Championships title, Olympic champion Gwen Jorgensen headlines a team of 12 American elite triathletes, including the entire 2016 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team, racing at the 2016 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Cozumel this weekend.
Gwen Jorgensen could win her third ITU World Championships title on Saturday. (Delly Carr/ITU)
Elite triathletes competing in the World Triathlon Grand Final Cozumel will cover a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run as the series comes to a close. The elite women are set to begin at 3:36 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 17, while the elite men will compete at 3:06 p.m. CT on Sunday, Sept. 18. The races will be broadcast live online at TriathlonLive.tv, and in the United States, the races will also air on NBC Sports Group. Both races will be shown live at NBCSports.com and will re-air on Universal HD, where the women's race will be shown on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. ET and the men's race will air on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. ET. Visit NBCSports.com for a complete schedule of Olympic sports broadcasts and channel information.
Jorgensen (St. Paul, Minn.) made history last month as the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in triathlon. She is currently ranked No. 2 in the world behind Bermuda's Flora Duffy, and a victory on Saturday could give Jorgensen her third straight ITU World Championships title if Duffy finishes outside of the top two. No American triathlete has ever won three world titles at the elite level. U.S. Olympian Katie Zaferes (Hampstead, Md.) also has a chance to finish on the ITU World Championships podium for the first time, as she enters the race ranked No. 4 in the world. Visit Triathlon.org for a podium simulation tool.
Joining Jorgensen and Zaferes on the start list are Kirsten Kasper (North Andover, Mass.), two-time Olympian Sarah True (Hanover, N.H.), Summer Cook (Thornton, Colo.), Renée Tomlin (Ocean City, N.J.), Lindsey Jerdonek (Cleveland, Ohio) and Erin Jones (Hood River, Ore.). The women's team is exceptionally strong heading into Cozumel, with six women (Jorgensen, Zaferes, Kasper, True, Cook and Tomlin) ranked in the top 20 in the world. Cook also recently led a U.S. podium sweep at WTS Edmonton, with True and Zaferes finishing second and third, respectively.
Visit WTS.Triathlon.org for a complete women's start list.
In the men's Grand Final race, U.S. Olympians Joe Maloy (Wildwood Crest, N.J.), Greg Billington (Spokane, Wash.) and Ben Kanute (Geneva, Ill.) will be representing the U.S. Maloy is the top-ranked U.S. athlete and was also the top U.S. finisher at the Olympic Games where he was 23rd. Maloy recently finished second at the Beijing International Triathlon behind two-time Olympic Champion Alistair Brownlee of Great Britain. Josh Izewski (Doylestown, Pa.) will also race on Sunday in his first WTS event.
Visit WTS.Triathlon.org for a complete men's start list.
The ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Cozumel will determine the 2016 world champions for elite men and women based on a season-long points total. The ITU World Championships format for elites changed from a single-day championship to a multi-race points race in 2009. In addition to the elite races in Cozumel, the five-day event also showcases world championships for aquathlon, juniors, U23 athletes and amateur triathletes. Visit usatriathlon.org for full coverage of each race.
Complete start lists are available at Triathlon.org, and more details on the 2016 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Cozumel are available at Cozumel.Triathlon.org.
Triathlon fans can feel like part of the action with TRIFECTA, the official triathlon fantasy game of the ITU World Triathlon Series. Registration for TRIFECTA is open now at trifecta.usatriathlon.org and podium picks must be submitted prior to the start of the first race. More details on the game are available at USATriathlon.org.
| About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,300 races and connects with nearly 500,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches and race directors on the grassroots level, USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of the ITU and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
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