Digital magazines from the International Triathlon Union (ITU) and the World Triathlon Series
Issue link: http://worldtriathlon.uberflip.com/i/1392212
WOMEN'S REVIEW – AUGUST 18, 2008 BEIJING 2008 The women lined up on the Ming Tomb Reservoir course in scorching heat, and all eyes were on Australia's Emma Snowsill and Portugal's Vanessa Fernandes. The pair were two the greatest ever female triathletes, and it was favoured that one would add that coveted Olympic gold to a set that already included World Championship and multiple World Cup wins. However neither stood out in the first two legs, the USA's Laura Bennett (USA) led the swim and helped lead out the first pack on the bike, but there wasn't a huge break between the contenders on the tough 40km bike leg. But it was clear from the second transition that it was going to be Snowsill's day, as she completely crushed the field over the 10km run. There were gasps from around the world when Snowsill ran down the wrong side of the barricade near the end of the third lap, but she quickly hurdled back over it and continued on to the finish line, where she ran home to gold by a whopping 66 seconds, the biggest margin yet in Olympic history. Fernandes finished strongly for silver, and Australia's Emma Moffatt claimed bronze to make it a brilliant day for Australia. OLYMPIC HISTORY REVIEW 137 - World Triathlon Media Guide Tokyo 2020 REPLAY on Olympic Channel