Olympic debutant Georgia Taylor-Brown put her name in the history books with a silver medal winning performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
With the men’s race beginning with an unexpected false start, the women’s race faced a delayed start due to weather conditions before Georgia Taylor-Brown, Jess Learmonth and Vicky Holland all took to the water for an initial 950m lap of Odaiba Bay.
It was Learmonth’s commanding swim that saw her exiting the water first before re-entering for the second, shorter 550m lap. She was followed by Taylor-Brown in 5th and Holland in 11th after all British women went into the second lap within 30 seconds of each other.
Learmonth burst out of the swim and into the first transition with a 00:18:24 split, joined by Vittoria Lopes (BRA), Katie Zaferes (USA), Flora Duffy (BER), Laura Lindemann (GER), Summer Rappaport (USA) and Taylor-Brown who left the water in 5th to join the lead pack of seven athletes. Holland entered T1 in 11th place to join the chase pack on the bike.
Trading places throughout the 40km cycle, the lead group was being hunted by chasers led by a determined Nicola Spirig (SUI). Rappaport dropped off the lead group halfway through the cycle as 69 seconds defined the gap between the leaders and chasers. The leaders then became five when Lopes failed to keep up with the pace being set.
Learmonth remained amongst the front at the end of the technical bike course encompassing Odaiba Marine Park as the challenging conditions began to clear. Taylor-Brown was unlucky to suffer a flat tyre around 800m from T2, resulting in four entering and leaving transition together with Taylor-Brown having work to do on the run.
Vicky Holland entered T2 as part of the third group of athletes, whilst at the front, a resilient Taylor-Brown pushed hard to pass Learmonth and Lindemann and occupy third place. Duffy and Zafares were in 1st and 2nd place as they entered the second of four laps on the run.
Taylor-Brown gradually ate away at Zafares’ advantage, bringing it down to just 5 seconds after 5km of the run. As the athletes entered the final lap and the bell sounded, Duffy had carved a strong lead, however, Taylor-Brown with silver in her sights made a decisive move to pass Zafares on the stroke of the final 2.5km.
It was Flora Duffy who claimed gold, taking the tape with a smile. The athlete from Bermuda was followed across the line by Great Britain’s Taylor-Brown, taking the silver medal after running a superb 10km despite suffering a flat rear tyre on the cycle. Katie Zafares rounded out the podium places to claim the bronze medal.
After leading the athletes into T1, Learmonth registered a top ten finish, crossing the line in 9th place ahead of Valerie Barthelemy (BEL). Holland crossed the line in 13th, a minute and a half after Learmonth.
Taylor-Brown’s silver makes her Great Britain’s most successful British female at an Olympic Games, following the race, she said: “I wasn’t happy when I saw the weather, but I had a really good swim, and the wet favoured a small group, which we got [on the bike]. After the puncture, the run was just panic mode which I think cost me in the latter half, but it paid off. To be honest, the lead up hasn’t been great, but I was just happy with a top five today.
“We have a great new swim coach that we’ve just taken on at British Triathlon and he got me in the front pack today and I owe a lot to him because that made the race for me.
“I don’t think I had the speed that she (Flora) had today. I had planned for hot weather so I had planned for a slower race which would favour me because obviously the lack of running I had done recently. I didn’t have the speed that Flora had today, no way, I am more than happy that it’s over.
“Without the injury I think I could have hung in there and maybe given it a bit more of a race but I think I’ve handled it very well and I am proud of myself to get on that start line.
“My dad was a runner, my mum was a swimmer, we were just given the opportunity to try every different sport. They were not pushy in the slightest. If we enjoyed something we carried on, if we didn’t we stopped. I have 3 sisters and they quit sport quite young. I obviously did enjoy it, I just had all the opportunity there for me and they let me do what I wanted to do. I have grown up in a sporty family, it was always meant to be.
“It’s amazing. We’ve got Vicky here, who is one of the medallists from Rio and four-time Olympian and she has given us so much knowledge leading into this, so many tips and tricks. It’s amazing. And Jess, she’s just my rock. She calms me down and tells me everything is going to be ok and puts a smile on my face. We are always going to help each other out, no matter what.”
Current world champion, Taylor-Brown, secured Great Britain’s second silver medal for triathlon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games following Alex Yee’s incredible performance in the men’s race. British athletes will be back in action on Friday 30 July at 11:30pm BST.
Relive the action with the BBC highlights
