Gwen Jorgensen had become so dominant this season that she had begun high-fiving spectators with her sunglasses resting on her head in the final meters of World Triathlon Series races.
Not so in Hamburg on Saturday.
The accountant-turned-World champion won her record-extending 11th straight race on Saturday, but she was tested like never before during an unbeaten run since her last loss April 26, 2014.
Jorgensen trailed in the final half-mile, and, though she retook the lead from Great Britain’s Vicky Holland, she looked over her shoulder in the final sprint and went just about full speed through the finish line.