The seven-year hiatus didn’t seem to faze Gwen Jorgensen at all

Photo by Adrees Latif/Reuters

Rio Olympic champion Gwen Jorgensen won the World Triathlon Cup in Valencia after a seven-year break from the sport as the 37-year-old bids to return to the United States team for next year’s Paris Games.

Jorgensen, world triathlon champion in 2014 and 2015, retired from the sport in 2017 to focus on competing in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics, but was plagued by injuries.

She returned to triathlon this year and finished almost 30 seconds ahead of German duo Nina Eim and Marlene Gomez-Goggel in Valencia on Saturday.

“I came out here and I really wanted to focus on the process and performance, more so than the place,” Jorgensen said.

“Getting back in the sport after seven years is not easy; I forgot the difference between open water and pool swimming, and I am excited; I know my fitness is there in the swim, and now I know how to execute it.”

(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)