Fall-chaos thwarts German dream of a medal in triathlon
First, the water is too dirty, then the streets of Paris are wet from the rain: The women's triathlon at the Olympics is heavily overshadowed. Even the German athletes crash on their bikes and have to bury their medal dreams. The Olympic victory goes to the Frenchwoman Cassandre Beaugrand with great jubilation.
The controversy over the water quality of the Seine was followed by chaos on the bike: The women's triathlon at the Olympics was overshadowed by several uncertainties. To the dismay of the Germans, both Lisa Tertsch and Laura Lindemann crashed on the rain-soaked streets of Paris. Their dreams of a medal were dashed.
Lindemann finished eighth, as she did in 2021, with Tertsch coming in ninth right behind her. Nina Eim finished twelfth on the bridge over the Seine.
Cassandre Beaugrand was the best in the competition, winning the Olympic title in front of cheering home crowds. Silver went to the Swiss Julie Derron, and bronze to Britain's Beth Potter. At around 8 a.m., the 55 athletes were released onto the pontoon at the Pont Alexandre III, with 19 of them making an early start. They jumped into the Seine too early, but this had no consequences for them. No time penalty was imposed on the early starters, as is the case when, for example, the helmet is left outside the provided box in the transition zone.
Tertsch involved in crash
The 1.5-kilometer swim was divided into two sections with a short land passage in between. Even at this halfway point, the three German athletes had a small gap to the leaders. The swim in the Seine could not be tested due to poor water quality, which led to the men's competition being postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday. The athletes knew only that they would swim the outbound leg of the course with the current, making the return leg much more challenging.
Flora Duffy, the Olympic champion from Tokyo 2021, completed the swim as the fastest and was the first to mount her bike. However, the distances were still close, with Tertsch and Lindemann among the leaders. Only the third German, Nina Eim, had lost a lot of time in the swim. Tertsch was then among the first to crash on the wet roads, getting caught up in a crash involving two athletes ahead of her. The gap to the leaders was too great to still dream of a medal.
Lindemann was in the leading group for a long time but then also crashed in the last lap and could not catch up to the leaders on her own. At least they could continue, unlike other athletes who had to withdraw in pain. Jeanne Lehar from Luxembourg sat crying at the roadside, leaning against a barrier. It was also bitter for Lotte Miller from Norway, who crashed twice and had to be treated on the asphalt.
German-German final sprint
On the final 10-kilometer run, Beaugrand pulled away early, and the leading group fell apart, with only three other athletes able to keep up. Derron put pressure on for a long time but couldn't hold on at the end. Beaugrand ran, cheered on by thousands of euphoric fans along the Paris course, to Olympic victory.
For the three Germans, it was now only about damage control, they had nothing more to do with the medal race after the crash chaos. All three went onto the running course together in a larger group from the second transition zone. Lindemann ultimately won the final sprint against Tertsch, the two were separated by just two seconds. Another ten seconds later, Eim also crossed the finish line.
Despite the poor water quality causing the men's triathlon to be postponed, the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris proceeded with the women's event. Tertsch, involved in a crash during the bike portion, fought valiantly with her teammate Lindemann to secure a respectable finish, finishing eighth and ninth respectively. In a thrilling final sprint, Tertsch managed to edge out Lindemann, leaving the stage for the Frenchwoman Cassandre Beaugrand to claim victory in front of the home crowd.
