World Triathlon Series Final 2015: Results, Times and Reaction from Friday

Favourite and defending world triathlon champion Gwen Jorgensen easily defended her Elite Women's title in the 2015 Grand Final in Chicago on Friday, finishing ahead of Non Stanford and Vicky Holland after an exciting, rain-plagued race.

Jorgensen had to finish in the top four to successfully defend her title but did even better, winning her seventh ITU World Triathlon Series event in seven starts.

Katie Zaferes and Sarah True were the only athletes who could have stopped her from winning the title, but both disappointed on Friday, with the former finishing 24th and the latter finishing seventh.

Here are the results from Friday's Elite Women's race:

Pos	Athlete	Nationality	Time
1	Gwen Jorgensen	USA	01:55:36
2	Non Stanford	GBR	00:29
3	Vicky Holland	GBR	00:44
4	Andrea Hewitt	NZL	01:08
5	Rachel Klamer	NED	01:14
6	Jodie Stimpson	GBR	01:32
7	Sarah True	USA	01:43
8	Ai Ueda	JPN	01:53
9	Aileen Reid	IRL	02:01
10	Juri Ide	JPN	02:03

Friday was all about the Elite Women's Grand Final, which would feature all of the local favourites who have dominated the events this year. Jorgensen entered the final event with a healthy lead in the standings, and as shared by Red Bull, it's easy to see why:

Carolina Routier predictably took the lead early in the swimming stage, but the rest of the pack managed to keep things close. Routier exited the water second along with Flora Duffy, but by the time the first athletes started making their way out of the transition zone, everyone had all but caught up.

Before long, there was a strong leading group of 29 riders, and TriathlonLIVE noticed that all of the favourites for the win were present:

The American and British athletes both worked their way to the lead to build the pace, and before long, the chasing group was looking at a 50-second deficit.

Several athletes tried their best to break away from the leading group before the running part of the race, but with even Jorgensen contributing at the front of the pack, a break was impossible. Before long, the 29 leaders entered the final transition zone, with the running part set to start.

Charlotte McShane was the first out on the course, but Stanford and Holland quickly took over, and Jorgensen joined them soon enough:

With the rain starting to pour down, conditions only became tougher for the athletes, but that didn't stop favourite Jorgensen from leaving her fellow leaders behind with two kilometres to go, aiming to defend her title in style with a solo finish.

Maggie Hendricks of USA Today shared this shot of the winner and women's ITU world triathlon champion:

While the 29-year-old was the obvious favourite to win the race and title, she told reporters she still refuses to treat a race as a formality, via 220Triathlon:

Stanford and Holland both finished on the podium, meaning the two have now qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. Andrea Hewitt finished in fourth place, good enough to overtake both True and Zaferes in the final standings on her way to second place. True finishes the year in third.

In the day's other events, Australia managed to grab a sensational three gold medals in the para races, as Bill Chaffey (PT1), Sally Pilbeam (PT3) and Katie Kelly (PT5) all won in their respective divisions.

Chaffey took full advantage of a flat tire for the Netherlands' Jetze Plat, who had built a comfortable lead of one minute and 20 seconds in the water. As Chaffey told wts.triathlon.org, he never saw the win coming:

"

It’s unbelievable. I really never expected it today. I expected really tough competition and I got that. I was a long way behind coming out of the water. I got some luck. Jetze (Plat) got a flat tire. I didn’t want to win because someone else got a flat so I went as hard as I could and I’m really happy with how I went.

"

For the full results from every event, visit the World Triathlon Series' official website. Friday's results have yet to be updated.

The Elite Men will compete in their Grand Final on Saturday, with Javier Gomez Noya looking for his third consecutive title. The Spaniard has been close to unbeatable for years but only won two events in 2015, and with compatriot Mario Mola right on his heels, things could get exciting in Chicago.

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