On a rain-drenched Wednesday, France's Cassandre Beaugrand swam through the Seine, cycled on the slippery cobblestone surrounding the Champs-Élysées, then finally ran across the finish line on the Pont Alexandre III bridge in 1:54:55 -- with the Eiffel Tower not far behind her.
It was the result that crowds swarming the 31.93-mile course craved: a French victory in triathlon — the country's first gold medal in the sport.
Switzerland's Julie Derron claimed silver six seconds after Beaugrand finished, neck-and-neck to the end with Great Britain's Beth Potter, who earned bronze. The Swiss and the Brit shut down France from a medal sandwich: French fourth-place finisher Emma Lombardi missed out on bronze by just seven seconds.
Though Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Flora Duffy of Bermuda was first out of the water, she eventually dropped to fifth place — a minute and change behind Beaugrand.
More to come. ...