14 WORLD TRIATHLON 2017 I WORLD TRIATHLON SERIES
The 2017 WTS season for the women officially debuted
with an exciting and emotional sprint finish that saw New
Zealand's Andrea Hewitt take the gold at the 2017 ITU
World Triathlon Abu Dhabi. Hewitt's win was a long time
coming as her victory was dedicated to her beloved and
talented fiancé, the late Laurent Vidal, who was honoured
after his passing with the number one position in the
same venue in 2016.
"It was an amazing race for me, it was amazing coming
to Abu Dhabi for me. Last year the number one spot
was dedicated to Laurent and this year I dedicated it to
Laurent. He always told me that I had everything, I had
the dedication, I had the integrity, I had talent and he told
me the one thing I was missing was emotion and I didn't
show it a lot of the time," Hewitt said through tears.
Earning the silver medal was Great Britain's Jodie
Stimpson, who was edged out by Hewitt by just an inch
in an epic sprint battle that came down to the wire. Third
place went to Austria's Sara Vilic, who stepped onto the
WTS podium for the very first time.
NEW WOMEN'S SEASON UP AND
RUNNING IN ABU DHABI
NEW ZEALAND'S ANDREA HEWITT EDGES THRILLING
SPRINT FINISH
