Germany wins gold ahead of the United States and Great Britain
MADRID, 5 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Germany won the gold medal in the mixed triathlon relay at the Paris Olympic Games on Monday, a race in which two penalties in the first swimming section deprived the Spanish team, made up of Alberto González, Anna Godoy, Antonio Serrat and Miriam Casillas, of the Olympic diploma, finishing ninth.
In a race called into question by the quality of the water in the Seine, Belgium did not start after one of its team members, Claire Michel, had to be hospitalised – she has been in hospital for four days – after being infected with the E.Coli bacteria present in the Parisian river.
At the start, Spain took the lead with Alberto González, the first relay rider and the first of the participants to get out of the water. While he was also leading the cycling section, it was announced that he had received a 20-second penalty for having pushed against a boat and for hitting another participant in the water.
Despite everything, the Malaga native, who won an Olympic title in the men’s triathlon thanks to a well-deserved eighth place, kept a cool head to remain in the lead in the cycling section alongside Dutchman Mitch Kolkman. France, one of the favourites, saw its chances hampered by a fall by Pierre Le Corre, who also had to get off his bike to put the chain back on when he tried to get going again.
Olympic champion Alex Yee of Great Britain quickly took the lead in the run before the second relay, with Georgia Taylor-Brown confirming her lead. Spain, before Anna Godoy’s relay, was fourth behind Great Britain, Germany and Italy.
The Barcelona native settled into a second group, with Taylor-Brown leading the way, and passed the baton to Antonio Serrat in fourth position. The Galician dropped to seventh place after going through the rain, and although he fell to ninth place on the bike, it allowed Miriam Casillas, the last of the relay riders, to start eighth in the final relay.
She climbed back to seventh place, 1:11 behind leader Beth Potter, but the fight for the diploma ended when she finally had to serve the penalty. In the run, Potter and the German Laura Lindemann were surprised by the American Taylor Knibb, who led the race for several metres until, in the decisive section, the German took control.
Lindemann crossed the finish line first, giving Germany the gold (1:25:39), while the United States and Great Britain, one second behind, fought over the silver, which had to be decided by a photo finish. In the end, second place went to the Americans, while the British took bronze. France, meanwhile, finished fourth and Spain ninth with a time of 1:27:30.