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

Mario Mola made a stunning late pass of fellow Spaniard Javier Gomez Noya during Saturday's 2015 Elite Men's Triathlon Grand Final in Chicago to secure a second gold-medal finish in Elite competition this year. 

Triathlete Magazine relayed images of Mola's dramatic victory, which was facilitated by some stellar sprinting down the stretch:  

South African Richard Murray took home bronze, while Cristiano Grajales of Mexico put together a resurgent effort during the competition's final leg to finish fourth. A look at the race's leaderboard can be viewed below, with complete results available at Triathlon.org. 

Place	Competitor	Final Time	Country
1	Mario Mola	1:44:53	Spain
2	Javier Gomez Noya	1:44:57	Spain
3	Richard Murray	1:45:35	South Africa
4	Cristiano Grajales	1:45:40	Mexico
5	Vincent Luis	1:45:44	France
6	Fernando Alarza	1:45:52	Spain
7	Aaron Royle	1:46:03	Australia
8	Jelle Geens	1:46:10	Belgium
9	Joao Pereira	1:46:10	Portugal
10	Ryan Bailie	1:46:13	Australia

Triathlon Live offered a look at the race podium:  

Although Gomez finished with silver around his neck, he finished higher than fourth to secure his fifth Olympic distance World Championship title. He's the first athlete ever to accomplish that feat, per Triathlon.org's Erin Greene.  

World Triathlon on Twitter also noted that Gomez has won three straight World Championships while capturing nine consecutive World Championship medals.   

According to Triathlon Live's look at the final series podium, Gomez finished first, with Mola in second and France's Vincent Luis in third: 

Slovakia's Richard Varga was ah ead of the pack (16:18) following the aquatic portion of the event, but he didn't have a considerable lead on his competitors, as WTS Chicago on Twitter indicated in a photograph:  

And not long after the triathletes took to their bikes, one of the USA's top competitors was forced to drop out of the evening's festivities, per Triathlon Live: 

However, Jarrod Shoemaker's departure didn't dampen the Red, White and Blue's hopes, as several Americans stayed strong on their bicycles. 

USA's Joe Maloy was among the most impressive cyclists during the second leg of the men's elite series, as Triathlon Live noted on Twitter: 

American Ben Kanute was the first competitor off his bike, as TriSportWorld.com showed, but he wasn't able to distance himself from two of the sport's most dominant forces: 

Mola and Lopez proceeded to break away from the pack and were truly running neck-and-neck during the early portions of the run, per WTS Chicago: 

Triathlete Magazine passed along an image to reinforce just how far ahead of the pack Lopez and Mola were, as Kanute faded and ultimately finished 20th: 

American Kevin McDowell ended up 32nd overall—and second among three U.S. competitors—but he was undoubtedly the feel-good story of the day. 

Diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2011, McDowell continued a triumphant return to the circuit that's seen him vault up to No. 31 in the men's rankings.

 McDowell said, per Triathlon.com's Jene Shaw:

"

This has been my first year doing a full season, and that was the whole focus for the year. I feel better than I felt pre-cancer, and I feel like there’s more coming. It’s been a patience game, I’ve learned. I’m truly happy where I’m at right now and I’ve got the right systems in place. We still have room to improve and things to work on, so it should be fun in the next couple years.

"

McDowell has a ways to go before catching the likes of Mola, Lopez, Luis and Murray, but a fourth-place showing in U23 competition offered hope that the 23-year-old can one day compete for men's Elite titles.