London Olympics 2012: A Photo Finish at the Women’s Triathlon Finals
It was a dramatic photo finish at the Women’s Triathlon Finals – London 2012 Olympics held at Hyde Park. Nicola Spirig (SUI) finished gold while Lisa Norden (SWE) took the silver. But their times are exactly the same at 1:59:48 when they crossed the finish line. Judges ruled that Spirig finished first.
Norden (left) and Spirig (right) trying to outsprint each other.
At 5KM, the lead pack is composed of Densham (AUS), Norden (SWE), Spirig (SUI) and Jenkins (GBR). Geoff (USA) was just close to the pack and was able to overtake Jenkins who was losing steam in the final two kilometers. Jenkins was the local favorite to win the gold but was not able to sustain the pace of the lead group.
With only a kilometer to go, Spirig sprinted and took the lead. The taller Norden was catching up really well during the final meters and I even thought she can overtake Spirig to the finish line. Both finished with the time of 1:59:48. Later, the judges ruled that Spirig finished first.
Erin Densham (AUS) finished with the bronze 1:59:50.
It was a exciting and dramatic race. Surely one of the greatest races in women’s triathlon.
More event photos at the London 2012 Olympics website.
About The Author
ManokanRunner
Jinoe Gavan is the founder of this award-winning blog Takbo.ph, The Filipino Running Community. Known as ManokanRunner, he is a computer addict on weekdays, a church leader on weekends and a runner in all days of the week. He wants to run and cover as many miles in many places as he could. Read more about his life in the urban jungle with all the distractions and the fun of raising his son in DaddyandtheCity(dot)com.
The video of that finish was very instructive.
The 2nd place winner lost the gold because she leaned back at the finish. The 1st place finisher should have been 2nd. It was her forward lean that spelled the difference, and Norden’s backward lean that cost her the gold. Sure, they clocked the same time, but that lean was pretty obvious in the photo-finish. When Norden sees the video over and over again, she will have sleepless nights thinking that her backward lean cost her the gold.