Gwen Jorgensen to switch to marathon

London : Olympic triathlon gold medallist Gwen Jorgensen has announced she will switch to the marathon for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Jorgensen, 31, won the USA’s first-ever Olympic gold in triathlon at Rio 2016 but did not compete in the 2017 season after giving birth to her first child. In November 2016, she came 14th in the women’s New York marathon race.

“USA Triathlon brought me to this sport and I’m privileged to step away with an Olympic gold medal,” she said.

“Though my near-future training will be focused on winning gold in the marathon in Tokyo, I will always be a part of the USA Triathlon family.”

If she were to win gold in the marathon, she would become the first male or female athlete of any nationality to secure Olympic titles in both disciplines. Jorgensen, who qualified for her first Olympics at London 2012, suffered a flat tyre on the bike leg and finished 38th overall.

But in Rio, she out-ran defending Olympic champion Nicola Spirig of Switzerland for an historic gold medal.

Just months after that victory, she ran her first competitive marathon in New York, finishing in a time of two hours 41 minutes one second.