Germany's Frodeno lifts men's Olympic triathlon title
19/8/2008 17:59
Unheralded German Jan Frodeno out-sprinted three big names in the four-man
leading pact to win the men's triathlon title in Beijing today at the Beijing
Olympics.
Frodeno staged a last-gasp sprint, overtaking Simon Whitfield of
Canada, pre-race favorites Francisco Javier Gomez of Spain and Bevan Docherty of
New Zealand in a classic finish at the triathlon venue, crossing the finish line
in 1 hour 48 minutes and 53 seconds.
"This was the race of my life. I had the
tunnel vision that I've always wished for," said the 27-year-old German.
"At
kilometre five, I knew this would be a really big day for me. When there were
three of us at the end, I knew the medal was safe, but I tried to get the
gold.
"I kept thinking that this was the moment I've been dreaming of. I
could hear the other guys breathing, and I sprinted and now I'm the Olympic
winner."
Whitfield, who won the inaugural Olympic triathlon gold at Sydney
2000, was second five seconds behind, while Docherty, the silver medalist in
Athens, came third 12 seconds adrift.
"I'm thrilled. Everything's OK. I tried
to stay around until the finish, I thought I would be late but I made it. I told
myself to fight back and fight back," said Whitfield as he talked the final
sprint.
"I got to see the flag at least."
Both Whitfield and Docherty have
managed to finish on Olympic podium twice.
Gomez was heavily favored to win
here before the race, but just faded away in the sprint and came
fourth.
Gomez has won every major titles in the sport over the last two
years, including this year's world championships and the test event staged over
the Olympic course last year.
It's Luxemburg's Dirk Bockel and Belgium's Axel
Zeebroek who led the cycling race and a batch of 16 followed up including the
medallists until a batch of six came up to the front.
After lap two, the
Spanish duo Gomez and Ivan Rana and the three medallists came up to streamline
the lead until the final sprint
took place.
Frodeno staged a powerful
sprint to finish top in the race.
"I knew this race was going to be hard.
When you've prepared for that, you know you can do the last 500 metres. You can
rest later, " said Frodeno.
"It was also an advantage for me that I was not
one of the favorites. I lost so many sprints this year, it teaches you to pace
yourself.
"I've put so much preparation into running in this competition.
I've practiced running hilly courses up and down," added Frodeno.
Xinhua
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