Olympic triathlon champion reveals early-season schedule as Paris qualification race hots up

Gwen Jorgensen has revealed her racing plans for the coming weeks, as the 2016 Olympic Champion prepares for the crucial final stage of Paris qualification.

Speaking candidly about her plans between now and Paris, the American said that it is all dependent on which races, particularly WTCS Yokohama, she is accepted into.

Until then, the former world champion is fully focused on testing her fitness at a continental cup event, before travelling to the Middle East for the first WTCS event of the year.

“I’m excited to race Abu Dhabi to test myself”

Speaking with TRI247, the 37-year-old shared that her training volume has already surpassed where it was this time last year, but that’s she excited to truly test her fitness in a race environment soon.

“I will race an early season continental cup to practice race preparations and then I will race the first WTCS of the season in Abu Dhabi.

“I am training more than this time last year, but training isn’t the same as racing. I’m excited to race Abu Dhabi to test myself.”

For Boulder-based Jorgensen, that continental cup looks set to be in La Habana, Cuba on February 25, where she is one of two American women on the start list alongside Naomi Ruff.

“I am focusing on showing up at the major races”

When asked about Yokohama WTCS, which is the first major Olympic distance race of the year and likely to be a key factor in deciding who makes the US Olympic team, Jorgensen was pragmatic about her current situation.

“Yokohama is in May and I may not even get into Yokohama as I am not secured with points. I am ranked #5 currently out of the USA women with only one year of points, while most others have two years of points, but that does not mean I will get into Yokohama.

“USAT could substitute me out or I could get passed by others in points as it is all very close. I am focusing on showing up at the major races and being prepared to the best of my ability at that time.”

Instead of worrying about Yokohama, Jorgensen said that she is fully focused on getting the best result possible in Abu Dhabi, with plenty of time between the races in the United Arab Emirates and Japan to specifically prepare.

“Abu Dhabi is in early March so there is ample time after Abu Dhabi to specifically train for Yokohama. Right now I am in a building phase going into a more specific phase of training.

“I did my first race pace run workout last week and am starting to include more intervals on the bike. In the pool I’ve been swimming a few days a week with Julie Dibens’ group which has been a nice mix of people.”