Summer Cook Wins Miyazaki ITU Triathlon World Cup

MIYAZAKI, Japan — Summer Cook (Thornton, Colo.) and Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.) ended their seasons on a high note on Saturday, taking gold and silver respectively at the Miyazaki ITU Triathlon World Cup. The Olympic-distance race, which covered a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10k run, was the final stop on the 2017 ITU World Cup circuit.

The ITU World Cup season as a whole has reflected the depth of the American womens’ talent, as nine different U.S. women have reached the podium at least once: Katie Zaferes (Hampstead, Md.), Kirsten Kasper (North Andover, Mass.), Spivey, Chelsea Burns (Seattle, Wash.), Renée Tomlin (Ocean City, N.J.), Cook, Lindsey Jerdonek (Brecksville, Ohio), Chelsea Sodaro (Poway, Calif.) and Tamara Gorman (Rapid City, S.D.). Cook has led the U.S. effort on the circuit, collecting three World Cup gold medals and one bronze.

Cook was first out of the water on Saturday in 18 minutes, 59 seconds, with Japan’s Yuko Takahashi (19:00) and Spivey (19:02) right behind her. The three women joined with six others to form a lead pack on the bike, and they held onto their lead for the entire 40k course. Burns and Canada’s Joanna Brown were hammering hard about 50 seconds back from the lead group, while a larger chase pack of 12 formed behind them. Still, no one was able to gain ground on the frontrunners as the nine women headed into the second transition together.

Wasting no time, Cook pulled away from her competitors early on the 10k run and built her lead with each of the four laps. Spivey, Takahashi, Emma Jackson of Australia and Valerie Barthelemy of Belgium, meanwhile, battled it out for the other two spots on the podium.

After a 35:11 run split, Cook broke the tape in 1:54:12 with a 38-second margin of victory. Spivey used a strong finish to grab silver in 1:54:50, and Jackson crossed the line for bronze in 1:54:53.

“I am really happy with today’s race. It felt great to be able to back up my win in Tongyeong last week with another win,” Cook said. “I feel like I completed some things better than I did last week, so I’m really happy about that and I’m really happy about the process I put forth in order to achieve my result today. I am looking to take these last two results and the things I accomplished from the whole process and take them into next season.”

“I am so happy to finish the season strong. I worked really hard today and it paid off,” said Spivey, who collected her second World Cup medal of the season after taking silver in Madrid in May.

Also competing for the U.S. women were Sodaro, who took 11th in 1:56:45, and Burns, who was 21st in 2:00:57.

In the men’s race, Belgium’s Martin Van Riel claimed his first career World Cup gold medal in 1:42:36. Vicente Hernandez claimed a close second in 1:42:39, and Andreas Schilling of Denmark rounded out the podium in 1:43:04.

Jason West (Boulder, Colo.) led the U.S. contingent, finishing 21st in 1:45:05. Eric Lagerstrom (Portland, Ore.) took 23rd in 1:45:20, and Kevin McDowell (Geneva, Ill.) was 28th in 1:46:00.

Elite Women

1. Summer Cook (Thornton, Colo.), 1:54:12
2. Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.), 1:54:50
3. Emma Jackson (AUS), 1:54:53

U.S. Finishers

1. Summer Cook (Thornton, Colo.), 1:54:12
2. Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.), 1:54:50
11. Chelsea Sodaro (Poway, Calif.), 2:56:45
21. Chelsea Burns (Seattle, Wash.), 2:00:57
Megan Foley (Salt Lake City, Utah), DNS