Olympic Experience

2-time Olympian; 1-time Olympic medalist (1 gold)

Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro 2016, gold (Olympic Distance - Women)
Olympic Games London 2012, 38th (Olympic Distance - Women)

Career Highlights

2016 Olympic Champion, claiming the first U.S. gold medal for the sport of triathlon
2-time ITU World Champion (2015, 2014)
2017 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final silver medalist

2016 ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Champion
17-time winner of ITU World Triathlon Series races (2016: Leeds, Yokohama; 2015: Abu Dhabi, Auckland, Gold Coast, Yokohama, London, Hamburg, Chicago; 2014: Yokohama, London, Chicago, Hamburg, Edmonton; 2013: San Diego, Yokohama, Stockholm)
22 total ITU World Triathlon Series medals (17 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
3-time USA Triathlon Elite National Champion (2015, 2014, 2013)
2016 New Plymouth ITU World Cup Champion
2015 USA Triathlon Elite Olympic-Distance/ITU Athlete of the Year
2014 USA Triathlon Elite Olympic-Distance/ITU Athlete of the Year
2014 Mooloolaba ITU World Cup Champion
2013 USA Triathlon Elite Olympic-Distance/ITU Athlete of the Year
2013 USA Triathlon Elite Sprint National Champion
2012 U.S. Olympic Team Member
Two-time ITU World Triathlon Series Podium Finisher (London, 2011; Auckland, 2012)
2012 Banyoles ITU World Cup Champion
2011 USA Triathlon Elite Race Series Champion
2011 Tiszaujvaros ITU World Cup Champion
2010 USA Triathlon Rookie of the Year
2010 USA Triathlon Elite Duathlete of the Year

Elite Triathlon CareerMade history and claimed the first Olympic gold for the United States in triathlon at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games on Aug. 20, winning by a margin of 40 seconds over the field • Earned a silver medal at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Cozumel, her first race after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games • Completed her first marathon, racing in the elite field at the New York City Marathon and placing 14th • Led off the U.S. team in the 2016 ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships on July 17 in Hamburg, Germany, aiding the U.S. in its first-ever world title in the event • Finished third at World Triathlon Hamburg on July 16, making up 30 seconds on the run to finish on the podium after missing the lead pack on the swim • Claimed victory at World Triathlon Leeds on June 12, making up a deficit of 94 seconds on the run to claim her 17th WTS title by 51 seconds • Posted her 16th career WTS win at World Triathlon Yokohama on May 14, besting the field by more than a minute to also win her 20th career WTS medal • Finished second in her 2016 WTS debut in Gold Coast, Australia, posting the fastest run split by more than 50 seconds to race back to a podium position from a deficit on the bike • Competed in her first ITU World Cup event since 2014 on April 3 in New Plymouth, New Zealand, and won by a margin of 22 seconds on the sprint-distance course • Opened her 2016 season with an ITU Continental Cup race in Wollongong, Australia, her early-season training base, winning by more than 1 minute

2015: Capped a perfect season at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago, winning the series and the world title with 5,200 points • Qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team on Aug. 2 by winning the Rio de Janeiro ITU Olympic World Qualification Event • Owns 12 consecutive wins on the ITU World Triathlon Series circuit, with a streak beginning in May 2014 • Led the U.S. women to their second podium sweep of the season with a win at WTS London • No other nation has earned more than one podium sweep in a season • Won WTS Yokohama on May 16 for the third straight year, with a gap of 73 seconds over the rest of the field • Posted the fastest run split by nearly 30 seconds at WTS Gold Coast on April 11 to claim victory • Helped the U.S. secure its first podium sweep since the ITU World Triathlon Series began in 2009, and only the second sweep in history for any nation in that time frame • Posted a 10k run split nearly 50 seconds faster than any other woman in the field to win WTS Auckland on March 29 • Began the season with a victory at WTS Abu Dhabi on March 7

2014: Capped a record-breaking season as the only woman in ITU World Triathlon Series history to win eight career series events and five in one season • Captured the ITU World Championship title on Aug. 30 with a win at the 2014 ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final, the first world championship win for the U.S. since 2004 • Posted the fastest run split of the field in every 2014 WTS event in which she competed • Extended her record with a win at ITU World Triathlon Hamburg on July 12 • Became the first woman to win six career WTS events since the series was launched in 2009, surpassing the five-career-wins record previously held by Paula Findlay (CAN) and Emma Moffatt (AUS) • Captured the ITU World Triathlon Chicago title with a 34:14 10k split, 1:24 faster than any other athlete in the field, making up a 67-second deficit coming off the bike • Won ITU World Triathlon London on May 31 • Picked up her first WTS win of the season at ITU World Triathlon Yokohama on May 17, successfully defending her 2013 title on the same course • Ran her way to a third-place finish at ITU World Triathlon Cape Town on April 26 after trailing the lead pack on the bike by more than two minutes • Placed 12th at ITU World Triathlon Auckland • Won her ITU season opener, the 2014 Mooloolaba ITU World Cup, on March 15.

2013: Logged her second straight ITU World Triathlon Series win in 2013 at the May 11 event in Yokohama • Made history as the first American woman to win an ITU World Triathlon Series race when she won the 2013 Omegawave World Triathlon San Diego on April 19 • Ran a 33:10 10k en route to her victory in San Diego, which also earned her the title of 2013 USA Triathlon Elite National Champion • Placed second at the 2013 Devonport OTU Sprint Oceania Championships

2012: Finished a career-best ninth overall and as the No. 2 American in the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series rankings • Closed her 2012 season with a runner-up finish at the ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final in Auckland, New Zealand • Surged from more than a minute down off the bike to the silver medal and her second career ITU World Triathlon Series podium finish thanks to the day’s fastest 10k split of 34:10, which was more than 40 seconds faster than any other competitor • In her first action since the Olympic Games, finished eighth at the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Yokohama • Made her Olympic Games debut in London, finishing 38th after suffering an untimely flat tire on the bike • Placed second and had the fastest run at the 2012 Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis • Finished 11th at the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Kitzbühel and shared the day’s fastest run split (34:29) • Claimed her second career 2012 ITU World Cup victory in Banyoles, Spain • Posted the day’s fastest run split of 35:10 en route to the victory • Finished fourth at the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Sydney • Placed sixth at the season-opening 2012 Clermont ITU Sprint Pan American Cup

2011: Placed fourth at the 2011 Pan American Games in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico • Winner of the 2011 USA Triathlon Elite Race Series women’s title • Locked up the series victory with a win in the series finale in Myrtle Beach, S.C. • Overcame a crash on the bike to run her way to a runner-up finish at the 2011 USA Triathlon Elite National Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. • Ranked 11th overall and finished as the No. 3 American in the final 2011 ITU World Championship Series rankings • Placed ninth and recorded the fastest run split at the Hy-Vee Triathlon Elite Cup • Finished sixth at the 2011 ITU Elite Sprint Triathlon Championship • Part of the U.S. Team that took fifth at the 2011 ITU Team Triathlon World Championships • Posted her first ITU World Cup win in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary, in 2011 thanks to the day’s fastest run split at 33:49, which was 42 second faster than any other competitor • Less than two years after completing her first competitive triathlon, placed second to post the best finish by an American woman in the history of the ITU World Championship Series and claim a spot on the 2012 United States Olympic Triathlon Team in London on Aug. 6, 2011 • Closed the race with a 33:43 10k run split • Posted the fifth-fastest run split at the 2011 Hamburg WCS event • Made her ITU World Championship Series debut in Madrid in 2011 • Placed fifth at the 2011 Monterrey ITU World Cup • Finished 16th at the 2011 Mooloolaba ITU World Cup • Also was fifth at the 2011 Mazatlan ITU Pan American Cup • Finished third overall at the opening event of the 2011 USA Triathlon Elite Race Series in Clermont, Fla., and was the No. 2 American to earn runner-up honors in the first-ever USA Triathlon Elite Sprint National Championship

2010: Named the 2010 USA Triathlon Rookie of the Year and Elite Duathlete of the Year after a remarkable debut season as an elite • Led the U.S. with a runner-up finish at the 2010 PATCO Pan American Championship in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico • Also finished fifth at the 2010 Huatulco ITU World Cup • Took fifth at the 2010 USA Triathlon Elite National Championship in Tuscaloosa, Ala. • Finished 13th at the 2010 ITU Duathlon World Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland • Took third at the 2010 San Francisco ITU Pan American Cup after closing strong on the run • Notched fifth-place finishes at the Kelowna and Coteau-du-Lac Pan American Cup events in 2010 • Finished second at the 2010 FISU World University Championships in Valencia, Spain, in just her second triathlon after posting the fastest run split by more than 2 minutes.

Amateur Triathlon Career: Standout runner and swimmer turned to triathlon after being identified by USA Triathlon’s Collegiate Recruitment Program • In her first competitive triathlon, earned elite card with an eighth-place finish (second amateur) at USAT’s Elite Development Race in March 2010 in Clermont, Fla. • Won three different running road races in 2010.

Athletic Background: Member of the track & field, cross country and swimming teams at Wisconsin • Swam for three years in college before switching to track on a full-time basis • Earned All-America honors in both track and cross country • 2009 Big Ten champion in the 5,000m and 3,000m • Three-time NCAA Championship participant in track and two-time cross country participant • Qualified for the Big Ten Swimming Championships from 2004-07 • Six-time Academic All-Big Ten choice and recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 2009 • Standout in both Swimming and track at Waukesha South High School.

Personal

Gwen Rosemary Jorgensen • Parents are Nancy and Joel Jorgensen • Has an older sister, Elizabeth • Married Pat Lemieux on Oct. 4, 2014 • Previously employed as an accountant at Ernst & Young in Milwaukee • Earned Master's in accounting from Wisconsin and passed the CPA exam • Served on the Leadership Committee for Athletes in Action at Wisconsin.

Learn more:
www.gwenjorgensen.com

World Championships Experience

Most recent: 2023 – 30th (Super Sprint Distance - Women), 43th (Olympic Distance - Women), 72th (Individual Ranking - Women)
Years of participation: Individual Ranking - Women 2011, 2023; Olympic Distance - Women 2023; Super Sprint Distance - Women 2023; Team Relay - Mixed 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016; Sprint Distance - Women 2011
Medals: 2 (1 gold, 1 bronze)

Gold – 2016 (Team Relay - Mixed)
Bronze – 2013 (Team Relay - Mixed)

Athlete Bio

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Event Schedule

2024 Olympic Games - Triathlon