Emma Moffatt of Australia successfully defended her triathlon world championship title on Sunday, finishing second behind compatriot Emma Snowsill in the last race of the season.
Snowsill won in a time of 1 hour, 49 minutes, 43 seconds, with Moffatt 1:42 behind.
Nicola Spirig of Switzerland was third, ahead of Sweden’s Lisa Norden. In the overall rankings, Spirig finished second and Norden third.
PHOTO: AFP
Moffatt, a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, led Andrea Hewitt of New Zealand by 52 points before the final race, but Hewitt dropped out of contention with a poor swim and finished 22nd, falling to sixth in the championship.
“I think the second title definitely means more than the first,” Moffatt said. “I’m really happy about my finish and also really happy to see another Aussie get the win today.”
Snowsill secured her victory with a fast run, leaving Moffatt, Spirig, Norden and Paula Findlay of Canada to battle for second place.
“When [Snowsill] took off I really wanted to go with her, but there was no way,” Moffatt said. “She was going way too fast for me.”
It was a memorable ending to a frustrating season for Snowsill, the Beijing gold medalist, who battled injuries early on.
“Missing five months of training during the beginning of the season makes the season tough,” Snowsill said. “I always knew my speed was there, I just needed to take the time to tap back into it and get everything back in order. Now I know what I need to do to be consistent throughout next year.”
After swimming 1,500m in the chilly Danube River, the triathletes rode 40km and ran 10km on a course centered on the Chain Bridge, Budapest’s oldest span across the river.
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