Gwen Jorgensen

Gwen Rosemary Jorgensen (born April 25, 1986, in Waukesha, Wisconsin) is an American distance runner and professional triathlete. She was the champion of the 2014 and 2015 ITU World Triathlon Series. She was named USA Triathlon's 2013 and 2014 Olympic/ITU Female Athlete of the Year. She was a member of the 2012 Olympic Team and again represented the United States in triathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she won the USA's first ever triathlon gold medal with a time of 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 16 seconds.

Career Jorgensen attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she swam and ran for the Badgers. She earned a master's degree in accounting, passed the CPA exam, and worked for Ernst & Young in Milwaukee as a tax accountant. Soon after she had graduated and begun her new job, USA Triathlon, which was pursuing former college swimmers and runners, encouraged Jorgensen to try the sport of triathlon. In 2010, she was selected as USA Triathlon's Rookie of the Year following her silver medal at the World University Triathlon Championships in Spain.

At the 2011 World Championship Series in London, Jorgensen placed 2nd, which earned her a spot on the 2012 US Olympic triathlon team. In the London Olympics, she suffered a flat tire on the bike portion of the race and finished in 38th place.

In 2014, Jorgensen placed first in four consecutive World Triathlon Series races, something no other female had done in the history of the series. Her winning streak extended through 2015, with a total of 13 consecutive series wins by the end of the year. Her astonishing streak was finally ended in 2016 by Helen Jenkins in Gold Coast, Australia. By coincidence, Jenkins had been the last competitor to have beaten her before her streak, in Cape Town in 2014. In 2015, she joined ECS Triathlon, an elite club, based in Sartrouville, France.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Jorgensen won gold in triathlon. She then entered the New York City Marathon and placed 14th with a time of 2:41:01.

Jorgensen announced via Twitter on January 19, 2017, that she and her husband were expecting a child. She gave birth to a boy, Stanley, on August 16, 2017 - almost two weeks after his due date.

In November 2017, Jorgensen announced that she was retiring from triathlon and focusing on the marathon, with the goal of winning an Olympic gold in the discipline at Tokyo 2020. However, after suffering injuries and undergoing heel surgery during her marathon build-up, Jorgensen announced on December 4, 2019, that she would focus on qualifying in track, in either the 5,000m or the 10,000m. However, she failed to qualify; she finished 9th in the 5,000m and was unable to complete the 10,000m.

In October 2019, Jorgensen's mother and sister published Go, Gwen, Go: A Family's Journey to Olympic Gold. In the book, they document Jorgensen's rise from a Milwaukee CPA to 2016 Olympic Champion and describe the family's experience raising an Olympian.

Jorgensen returned to the ITU World Triathlon Series in 2023. She attempted to qualify for the US team for the 2024 Olympics triathlon. After finishing well back in two 2024 World Triathlon Championship Series races (15th in Yokohama and 33rd in Hamburg), she was not selected to the team, though she was invited to be an alternate.

ITU competitions Jorgensen's ITU race results are:

Results list Date Competition Place Rank 2010-05-28 World University Triathlon Championships Valencia 2 2010-06-26 Pan American Cup Coteau-du-Lac 5 2010-07-10 Pan American Cup San Francisco 3 2010-08-20 Premium Pan American Cup Kelowna 5 2010-09-03 Duathlon World Championships Edinburgh 13 2010-09-25 Premium Pan American Cup Tuscaloosa 8 2010-10-10 World Cup Huatulco 5 2010-10-17 Pan American Championships Puerto Vallarta 2 2011-03-05 Sprint Pan American Cup Clermont 3 2011-03-26 World Cup Mooloolaba 16 2011-04-09 Pan American Cup Mazatlan 5 2011-05-08 World Cup Monterrey 5 2011-06-04 World Championship Series Madrid DNF 2011-07-16 World Championship Series Hamburg 27 2011-08-06 World Championship Series London 2 2011-08-14 World Cup Tiszaújváros 1 2011-08-20 Sprint World Championships Lausanne 6 2011-09-24 Pan American Cup Buffalo 3 2011-10-09 Pan American Cup Myrtle Beach 1 2011-10-23 Pan American Games Guadalajara 4 2012-03-03 Pan American Cup Clermont 6 2012-03-24 World Cup Mooloolaba 8 2012-04-14 World Triathlon Series Sydney 4 2012-05-10 World Triathlon Series San Diego 51 2012-06-17 World Cup Banyoles 1 2012-06-23 World Triathlon Series Kitzbühel 11 2012-08-04 Olympic Games London 38 2012-09-29 World Triathlon Series Yokohama 8 2012-10-20 WTS Grand Final Auckland 2 2013-02-23 Oceania Championships Devonport 2 2013-03-20 USA National Championships San Diego 1 2013-04-06 World Triathlon Series Auckland DNF 2013-05-19 World Triathlon Series San Diego 1 2013-05-11 World Triathlon Series Yokohama 1 2013-06-01 World Triathlon Series Madrid 4 2013-07-06 World Triathlon Series Kitzbühel 18 2013-07-20 World Triathlon Series Hamburg 6 2013-07-21 Mixed Relay World Championships Hamburg 3 2013-08-24 World Triathlon Series Stockholm 1 2013-09-11 WTS Grand Final London DNF 2014-03-15 World Cup Mooloolaba 1 2014-04-06 World Triathlon Series Auckland 12 2014-04-26 World Triathlon Series Cape Town 3 2014-05-17 World Triathlon Series Yokohama 1 2014-05-31 World Triathlon Series London 1 2014-06-28 World Triathlon Series Chicago 1 2014-07-12 World Triathlon Series Hamburg 1 2014-08-30 World Triathlon Series Edmonton 1 2015-03-06 World Triathlon Series Abu Dhabi 1 2015-03-28 World Triathlon Series Auckland 1 2015-04-11 World Triathlon Series Gold Coast 1 2015-05-16 World Triathlon Series Yokohama 1 2015-05-60 World Triathlon Series London 1 2015-07-18 World Triathlon Series Hamburg 1 2015-08-02 ITU World Olympic Qualification Event Rio de Janeiro 1 2015-09-18 World Triathlon Series Chicago 1 2016-04-02 World Cup New Plymouth 1 2016-04-09 World Triathlon Series Gold Coast 2 2016-05-14 World Triathlon Series Yokohama 1 2016-06-11 World Triathlon Series Leeds 1 2016-07-16 World Triathlon Series Hamburg 3 2016-07-16 Mixed Relay World Championships Hamburg 1 2016-08-20 Olympic Games Rio 1 DNF = Did not finish