Just sitting in the media room in Stockholm after having finished the commentary on the Men's ITU Stockholm Triathlon and pondering just where Javier Gomes fits in the big picture of the sport's history. Today he very wisely won his 12th WTS Triathlon race in a very intelligent manner. Slow over the first 1000m (by his own admission) he quickly turned on the swim jets to get out of the water in a strong enough position to bike himself into the lead group within 1/2 a lap of the 40km bike. From there he controlled the bike situation. With Mario Mola in the chase pack, and the two Brownlee brothers, Richard Murray and Vincent Luis all not in Stockholm, Javier executed a near perfect second half of the race. He kept the pace fast enough on the bike to have a 80 second gap back to the chase pack with Mola, and then he ran hard enough for 5km to drop Aaron Royal and Joal Pereira and have a relatively easy last 5k to win the event (saving his legs for next Sunday's 70.3 World Champs in Austria). Stockholm is one of the few races in the world that Javier has not won at least once and today he fixed that situation.
With four ITU World Champs. One Olympic Games silver and 4th place, One Xterra World Championship, One 70.3 World Champ (last year just one week after Edmonton), Javier is in the very very short list of the greatest ever.
Those who are not lucky enough to meet Javier personally, should rest assured that he is one of the nicest guys on the circuit. He never says no to a media interview, charity request or opportunity to hep the sport grow. While some athletes are resting in their hotel rooms, Javier is out at a press conference or handing out awards at a kids race prior to his WTS Triathlon.
I first remember Javier racing to victory at the 2003 Queenstown Under 23 World Championships. He was spectacular and ran away from everyone on the 10k run. Then his heart problems took him out of the sport for a year and triathlon almost lost one of the greatest ambassadors before he ever really got started. From 2005-2009 he was pure magic. Taking the mantle from Sydney Olympic Champ Simon Whitfield, he took triathlon to a new level with his incredible speed in the swim-bike and run. He was almost unstoppable. It was a tendon problem in his foot that limited his run training prior to Beijing Olympics in 2008, that left Javier with the disappointing (by his standards) 4th place finish at those Olympics.
By 2009, Ali Brownlee wasn't just a little boy with potential anymore, he was a legitimate beast, and he and Javier (and eventually Jonny Brownlee) started their four year battle on the way to their epic race in London 2012 Olympic Games. No question that the biggest one day wins between 2009-2013 belonged to Ali Brownlee, but the consistency of racing all distances and formats belonged to Javier Gomez.
Ali Brownlee's incredible capacity to get ready for major one day races (London Olympics, Commonwealth Games, a few Grand Finals) have come at the expense of being able be on the podium 7-8 times a year (as Javier has been able to do).
Last year was pure magic for Javier with numerous wins over the year, his 4th World Championship/Series win in Edmonton and seven days later the 70.3 World Champs (in Mt Tremblant Canada over Frodeno and Tim Don) and finished off with a win one week later in China. Perhaps the most incredible 14 days of racing I have ever personally observed (3 different cities, 3 different formats, 3 different distances).
Today Javier won his second WTS Triathlon of the year, his 12th WTS race overall and he heads to Chicago's Grand Final in Sept as a legitimate threat to win his record breaking 5th World Title. Before that, he will head next week to race against Frodeno, Don, Kienle and 50 of the best 1/2 Ironman athletes in the world in Austria. Its truly mind-boggling.
Do I expect Javier to win next weekend? Hmmmm. Not an easy question. I do think that Jan, Tim, Sebastian are all fitter then they were 12 months ago and Javier has had very little time on his time trial bike (to put in the the proper 90+ km rides and 21+ km runs). I a not making pre excuses for Javier (he would never do that, just being accurate). If he does win next weekend in Austria, it will only add to his epic stature and if he places top 4-5 overall, its just a reflection of how talented he is that his priority is on the draft legal ITU racing (and Chicago) yet he can still be right in the thick of things in the 70.3 race circuit.
I am not sure if Javier Gomez will race Kona in 2016 (my suggestion would be to wait one more year post the stressful Rio Olympic Preparation Phase and do it in 2017). With a 4th and 2nd at the Olympic Games, I am sure this is Javier's BEST, LAST chance to go for Olympic Gold in Rio and I am sure he will do everything in his power to go for the gold. Regardless, by 2017, I am sure that just as we saw Daniel Ryf and Jan Frodeno be mega competitive in their first Kona races, Javier will be an immediate threat on his first attempt on the big Island.
Its easy to not fully appreciate when you are in the midst of an incredible athlete's greatest ever-days. I always try to remind people to take time and enjoy and value what they are seeing because its so unique and rare. Athletes who are as kind, generous and talented as Javier Gomez do not come along often. He is in the absolute peak of his career (age wise, knowledge wise, fitness wise and desire-wise). The sport is fortunate enough to have an incredible ambassador like Javier Gomez and we need to all enjoy just how great he is right now.
I personally hope we see 3-4 guys (Javier being one of them) all together at 16km off the bike next weekend in Austria 70.3 Worlds and a down to the wire final 1km run that is epic. I'm almost thinking of buying a ticket to Austria to simply watch as a spectator (the racing is going to be that awesome).
Barrie Shepley
Voice of the ITU, Hall of Fame Coach and Lover of All Things Triathlon
With four ITU World Champs. One Olympic Games silver and 4th place, One Xterra World Championship, One 70.3 World Champ (last year just one week after Edmonton), Javier is in the very very short list of the greatest ever.
Those who are not lucky enough to meet Javier personally, should rest assured that he is one of the nicest guys on the circuit. He never says no to a media interview, charity request or opportunity to hep the sport grow. While some athletes are resting in their hotel rooms, Javier is out at a press conference or handing out awards at a kids race prior to his WTS Triathlon.
I first remember Javier racing to victory at the 2003 Queenstown Under 23 World Championships. He was spectacular and ran away from everyone on the 10k run. Then his heart problems took him out of the sport for a year and triathlon almost lost one of the greatest ambassadors before he ever really got started. From 2005-2009 he was pure magic. Taking the mantle from Sydney Olympic Champ Simon Whitfield, he took triathlon to a new level with his incredible speed in the swim-bike and run. He was almost unstoppable. It was a tendon problem in his foot that limited his run training prior to Beijing Olympics in 2008, that left Javier with the disappointing (by his standards) 4th place finish at those Olympics.
By 2009, Ali Brownlee wasn't just a little boy with potential anymore, he was a legitimate beast, and he and Javier (and eventually Jonny Brownlee) started their four year battle on the way to their epic race in London 2012 Olympic Games. No question that the biggest one day wins between 2009-2013 belonged to Ali Brownlee, but the consistency of racing all distances and formats belonged to Javier Gomez.
Ali Brownlee's incredible capacity to get ready for major one day races (London Olympics, Commonwealth Games, a few Grand Finals) have come at the expense of being able be on the podium 7-8 times a year (as Javier has been able to do).
Last year was pure magic for Javier with numerous wins over the year, his 4th World Championship/Series win in Edmonton and seven days later the 70.3 World Champs (in Mt Tremblant Canada over Frodeno and Tim Don) and finished off with a win one week later in China. Perhaps the most incredible 14 days of racing I have ever personally observed (3 different cities, 3 different formats, 3 different distances).
Today Javier won his second WTS Triathlon of the year, his 12th WTS race overall and he heads to Chicago's Grand Final in Sept as a legitimate threat to win his record breaking 5th World Title. Before that, he will head next week to race against Frodeno, Don, Kienle and 50 of the best 1/2 Ironman athletes in the world in Austria. Its truly mind-boggling.
Do I expect Javier to win next weekend? Hmmmm. Not an easy question. I do think that Jan, Tim, Sebastian are all fitter then they were 12 months ago and Javier has had very little time on his time trial bike (to put in the the proper 90+ km rides and 21+ km runs). I a not making pre excuses for Javier (he would never do that, just being accurate). If he does win next weekend in Austria, it will only add to his epic stature and if he places top 4-5 overall, its just a reflection of how talented he is that his priority is on the draft legal ITU racing (and Chicago) yet he can still be right in the thick of things in the 70.3 race circuit.
I am not sure if Javier Gomez will race Kona in 2016 (my suggestion would be to wait one more year post the stressful Rio Olympic Preparation Phase and do it in 2017). With a 4th and 2nd at the Olympic Games, I am sure this is Javier's BEST, LAST chance to go for Olympic Gold in Rio and I am sure he will do everything in his power to go for the gold. Regardless, by 2017, I am sure that just as we saw Daniel Ryf and Jan Frodeno be mega competitive in their first Kona races, Javier will be an immediate threat on his first attempt on the big Island.
Its easy to not fully appreciate when you are in the midst of an incredible athlete's greatest ever-days. I always try to remind people to take time and enjoy and value what they are seeing because its so unique and rare. Athletes who are as kind, generous and talented as Javier Gomez do not come along often. He is in the absolute peak of his career (age wise, knowledge wise, fitness wise and desire-wise). The sport is fortunate enough to have an incredible ambassador like Javier Gomez and we need to all enjoy just how great he is right now.
I personally hope we see 3-4 guys (Javier being one of them) all together at 16km off the bike next weekend in Austria 70.3 Worlds and a down to the wire final 1km run that is epic. I'm almost thinking of buying a ticket to Austria to simply watch as a spectator (the racing is going to be that awesome).
Barrie Shepley
Voice of the ITU, Hall of Fame Coach and Lover of All Things Triathlon