As she wobbled along on a flat tire four years ago in London, Gwen Jorgensen promised to turn that heartbreak into a conquering of Copacabana Beach. She crushed both the course and the competition in Rio, giving the United States its first Olympic triathlon gold medal by cruising across the finish line in 1 hour 56 minutes 16 seconds.
That was 40 seconds ahead of the silver medalist Nicola Spirig of Switzerland, who won in 2012 after Jorgensen’s flat tire relegated her to 38th. Vicky Holland outsprinted her British teammate Non Stanford for the bronze.
Chen Long of China defeated Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, 21-18, 21-18, in the men’s final, giving Lee his third straight silver medal and signaling Chen’s place as the game’s new power.