Day two of para triathlon competition at the Paralympics in Tokyo saw an incredible sprint finish between American Kendall Gretsch and Australian Lauren Parker in the PTWC category. After leading the swim by 40 seconds over Margret Ijdema (NED) and Spain’s Evan Maria Moral Pedrero, Parker hit the bike with a two-minute cushion on Gretsch. Gretsch moved to second on the bike, and then gained even more time as Parker struggled in transition and lost a minute. Gretsch made up the 90-second gap and was able to pass the Aussie on the blue carpet to take the sprint and the gold medal. Moral Pedrero would end up with bronze.
Germany’s Martin Shulz successfully defend the title he won in Rio as the German won the PTS5 category in an exciting race.
Shulz managed to overtake Great Britain’s George Peasgood on the second lap of the run to take gold, with the Brit hanging on for second after leading much of the race. Canada’s Stefan Daniel made up time on the run, but wasn’t able to catch the two men ahead and would end up with the bronze medal. You can find full results here.
Dutch para triathlete Jetze Plat also defended his Rio title, taking the men’s PTWC category. Plat used his impressive bike skills on the technical course to take the lead and never looked back as he continued his dominance of the division, taking a second gold to go along with five world championships. Austria’s Florian Brungraber took silver and Italy’s Giovanni Achenza took bronze.
After taking the silver in Rio, Britain’s Lauren Steadman would move up a spot in Tokyo to take gold in the women’s PTS5 category. Silver went to American Grace Norman while Brit Claire Chasmore managed to overcome a few penalties to net the bronze medal.
