‘I’m hungry for more’ – Gwen Jorgensen aiming for Alghero podium after fourth in Yokohama

Former Olympic champion Gwen Jorgensen has set herself a target of returning to the medals podium after admitting she was not satisfied with her fourth-placed finish at WTCS Yokohama earlier this month.

Her best result since returning to competitive triathlon in 2023, the 39-year-old American says the experience of coming so close to the top three once again has only served to whet the appetite for future success. 

The Rio 2016 gold medalist is already preparing for her next event – in Alghero, Italy on May 31 – and is determined to go at least one better as she seeks to force her way back in among the prizes.

‘I am just never satisfied’

Talking to husband Patrick Lemieux on her latest podcast which is embedded below, the 2014 and 2015 ITU World Triathlon Series Champion explained that while others may see finishing fourth as a step in the right direction, she felt it was very much an opportunity missed.

“I think I’ve gotten so many messages and everyone says I should be happy with the result… and I’m just not,” she said. “I am just never satisfied. And I don’t know if that makes me a better athlete or if that’s just who I am in my racing. 

“I’m hungry for more. I’m not sad about the race. But I’m also not as excited as other people have been for me, although I do really appreciate everyone being excited. 

“It’s been a long journey. When I saw the finish line, I also saw the podium and to be that close to a medal, I think is really exciting. I’m really thankful for my sponsors, supporters and fans who have played a huge part in this and have stuck with me.”

Next up, WTCS Alghero

The Yokohama race had come almost 100 days after her disappointing 29th-place showing in Abu Dhabi, which she accepted left her in no doubt of the additional training that was required to get back up to race speed.

“At Abu Dhabi I definitely underestimated everyone else’s fitness levels,” she said. “I went in thinking everyone was going to be about 80 per cent and I am just not at the stage yet where I can be at 80 per cent and compete with these guys.

“There were 100 days between the two events and basically, from then until now, I have just been training. I was very uncertain about what was going to happen at Yokohama, you never really know what is going to happen. I went into it thinking this is going to hurt.”

Chilly conditions in Yokohama were far from ideal for Jorgensen, who struggled to find her best swimming form in the cold water, but she battled back on the bike to join a large leading pack for the crucial run to the finishing line.  

While she came up short of the medals this time, the improved performance now stands her in good stead for the next race in Italy.

“The swim was cold and I’m thinking I just needed to get moving as fast as possible to warm up,” she added. “On the bike I was in the third group and we had to work hard to get back in the pack. I knew I wanted to get to the front.

“I wanted to build throughout the race and try to catch as many people as possible. After the fact you always think that you could have gone faster, could have gone harder.

“It’s going to be a tight turnaround. There’s another WTCS in Italy, in two weeks – so that is exactly two weeks apart – so I came home. I tried to get on a plane as fast as possible to get home after the race and I leave again on Monday. 

“So a lot of time-zone changes and I could have stayed, you know, gone to Europe, but I’ve done that in the past and mentally, I just don’t do well when I’m not with my family.”

Yokohama was won by Luxemburg’s Jeanne Lehair who finished ahead of Britain’s Beth Potter in second and German Lisa Tertsch in third. Tertsch, who won the season’s opening race in Abu Dhabi, leads the overall rankings, with Jorgensen in ninth.