We Noticed: Gwen Jorgensen Foundation Funds Canyon Bikes, Airline Sends Bag to Wrong Continent and More
Last year we reported on 2016 Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen’s collaboration with the USA Triathlon Foundation “to support economically disadvantaged children and youth entering the sport of triathlon.” The initiative was a joint collaboration between Jorgensen, her husband Patrick Lemieux and philanthropist Scott Fillion which was “created to open the door to triathlon for kids and youth who might not otherwise have the means to participate.”
Nine individual youth athletes and TeamE Mulit Sport, a USA Triathlon Certified youth team from Northwest Arkansas received grants from that original scholarship fund. This year the fund has been expanded – grant recipients will receive Canyon race bikes, “further amplifying the Gwen Scholarship Fund’s mission to break down barriers to participation and make triathlon more accessible for youth athletes across the United States,” according to a release from the foundation.
“Gwen has long been an inspiration in our sport, not only for her Olympic gold medal and incredible sustained success at the highest level of competition, but also for her dedication to growing triathlon and giving back to the next generation by partnering with the USA Triathlon Foundation. We are proud to continue this partnership and look forward to seeing the impact it will have on young athletes across the country,” said Jason Rizzi, USA Triathlon Foundation Chief Development Officer. “Thank you to Canyon Bicycles for providing race bikes and supporting this initiative. The expansion of the Gwen Jorgensen Scholarship Fund to include Canyon race bikes reflects exactly the kind of bold, meaningful investment that changes lives.”
Athletes and teams are able to apply here – as with last year, up to 10 grants will be distributed. Applications will be reviewed by Jorgensen, Lemieux and representatives from the USA Triathlon Foundation.
The program is similar to one Jorgensen and Lemieux ran for three years ahead of the Rio Games.
“I actually race with some people who were scholarship winners,” Jorgensen said in an interview about the program last year. “I feel old, but I think it really does make a difference.”
“This comes back to just how many people invested in me and believed in me when maybe I didn’t even believe in myself and really got me to the starting line,” she said. “ I was somebody who didn’t even know about triathlon? And I was told ‘you could be an Olympian.’ And I thought they were crazy when they said that. When I started triathlon, I didn’t have a bike and somebody gave me a bike to have for free. I wouldn’t have even got into this sport if I didn’t have access to those things. I do want to make it more accessible, and a big reason we want to do grassroots is we want to get more people involved in the sport. It really is important.”
South America or South Africa?
American Matthew Marquardt is having fun trying to track down one of his bags as he prepares for this weekend’s race in South Africa. (We previewed the South Africa field here.) Turns out the errant bag was put on a plane to Peru rather than joining the American favourite on his Delta flight for this weekend’s IRONMAN South Africa African Championship.
The ever-positive and upbeat Marquardt used the lost bag as a teaching opportunity.
“There are alway lessons to be learned or taught when things go wrong,” he posted on Instagram. “In this case it is the importance of trying to always plan for just this type of scenario by packing as much “race critical” gear in my carryons. This has saved me BIG time as the only key piece of training gear that went to Peru is my bike shoes. While I don’t have any toiletries or change of clothes, I should be able to train somewhat normally until it all arrives in a few days.”
World Triathlon Announces More World Cup Events for 2026
Beijing, China will host a World Cup event later this year – the standard-distance race will take place on October. 17. Beijing hasn’t hosted a high-level World Triathlon event since 2011, the year it hosted the WTCS Grand Final.
Hong Kong will add a Mixed Relay Cup to its weekend of events included in the Hong Kong World Triathlon Cup on Nov. 7 and 8, 2026. The weekend will now include elite men’s and women’s races on the Saturday, followed by the Mixed Relay Cup event on the Sunday.
According to the announcement, there’s still no word on the status of the Abu Dhabi World Triathlon Championship Series races which were postponed due to the war in Iran.
Salazar and Bolbat take IRONMAN 70.3 Puerto Varas
Chile’s Macarana Salazar Ezquerra and Germany’s Marcel Bolbat took IRONMAN 70.3 Puerto Varas in Chile yesterday. Salazar was among a group of three women leading out of the water, then dominated on the bike and opened up a huge lead that was more than enough to keep her clear for a big win in her home country.
| PLACE | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | SWIM | BIKE | RUN | OVERALL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macarena Salazar Ezquerra | Chile | 10:12 | 2:23:43 | 1:27:24 | 4:07:10 |
| 2 | Romina Biagioli | Argentina | 10:12 | 2:32:09 | 1:23:41 | 4:13:05 |
| 3 | Laura Mathews | USA | 11:31 | 2:28:05 | 1:26:56 | 4:14:21 |
| 4 | Francisca Garrido | Chile | 11:35 | 2:33:05 | 1:26:48 | 4:17:20 |
| 5 | Diana Castillo Franco | Colombia | 10:11 | 2:34:10 | 1:29:31 | 4:21:26 |
On the men’s side, Bolbat also dominated on the bike, then followed that up with the day’s fastest run split, to win by just under 10 minutes.
| PLACE | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | SWIM | BIKE | RUN | OVERALL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcel Bolbat | Germany | 9:22 | 1:59:32 | 1:11:06 | 3:25:31 |
| 2 | Luciano Taccone | Argentina | 9:07 | 2:07:07 | 1:12:42 | 3:35:29 |
| 3 | Martin Baeza Munoz | Chile | 8:48 | 2:07:27 | 1:13:23 | 3:35:53 |
| 4 | Colin Szuch | USA | 9:55 | 2:06:53 | 1:13:57 | 3:37:00 |
| 5 | Martin Ulloa | Chile | 9:07 | 2:07:22 | 1:16:17 | 3:39:03 |
The race featured a US$15,000 prize purse.
