One of the most exciting parts of triathlon is watching two or more triathletes battle it out over the last few yards to the finish line. Here’s some of our favorite triathlon sprint finishes.
#5 Top Triathlon Sprint Finish – Bevan Docherty (NZ) and Kris Gemmel (NZ)
The 2005 ITU New Plymouth (New Zealand) Triathlon World Cup saw two countrymen, Kris Gemmel and Bevan Docherty, battling it out over the last 500 meters for a thrilling come-from-behind victory. Rewatching this triathlon sprint finish always gets us excited to get out to the track and do our speedwork (or maybe just look for the next triathlon sprint finish on YouTube and realize we will never be that fast… 😉 )
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#4 Top Triathlon Sprint Finish – Javier Gomez (ESP) and Alistair Brownlee (GBR)
Javier Gomez and Alistair Brownlee together dominated the ITU Olympic triathlon distance for years, consistently ranking #1 and #2 in the world. These two triathletes seemed to bring out the best in each other, with many of their races coming down to who could push themselves just that little bit harder down the final 100 meters of the blue carpet to the finish line.
The 2015 ITU World Triathlon race in Yokohama, Japan was one of the best examples of they competitiveness as Brownlee and Gomez pushed each other to their limits all the way to the finish line.
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#3 Top Triathlon Sprint Finish – 2014 ITU World Triathlon Series London
We won’t mention which triathletes were in the final finish line sprint since this finish starts with a pack of seven pro male triathletes setting a blistering final mile pace.Â
The 2014 race in London was an ITU sprint distance triathlon with the run cut down to a 5 km sprint from the normal 10k distance of the Olympic triathlon.
The front pack of elite triathletes included the Brownlee brothers (Alistair and Jonathan) from Great Britain, defending ITU Triathlon World Champion Javier Gomez, fellow countryman Mario Mola, Richard Murray from South Africa, Joao Pereira from Portugal and Ryan Bailee of Australia.
#2 Top Triathlon Sprint Finish – Javier Gomez (ESP) and Jonathan Brownlee (GBR)
Seemingly every year, Javier Gomez battled the Brownlee brothers (Alistair and Jonathon) on the ITU World Triathlon Series circuit. Going into the 2013 London ITU Grand Final triathlon, Gomez and Brownlee both had their sights set on winning the final race of the season and clinching the title of World Champion.
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#1 Top Triathlon Sprint Finish – Nicola Spirig (SWI) and Lisa Norden (SWE)
The women’s triathlon in the 2012 London Olympics had a edge-of-the-seat finish with five women in contention for medals in the last kilometer. American Sarah Groff had battled back to catch up with the lead pack of Lisa Norden, Nicola Spirig and Erin Densham of Australia, only to watch at the three lead women picked up the pace over the last 200 meters before the American dropped back into fourth place. Spirig and Norden both pushed the pace and surged over the last 200 meters to the finish as Densham was unable to respond to the blistering kicks of the other two women. Â Stride for stride down the final 50 meters, Norden and Spirig battled to be the first to cross the line and claim the Olympic gold medal.
To this photo finish….
You can watch the women’s 2012 London Olympic Triathlon finish on YouTube.
What’s your favorite triathlon sprint finish?
Let us know in the comment section below!
