Triathlon, then the marathon · 2010s onward
Gwen Jorgensen
An accountant who took up triathlon and systematised her way to gold.
The unlikely start
She was working as an accountant when USA Triathlon approached her about switching from collegiate swimming and running. She had to learn to race a bike, in public, against people who had done it their whole lives.
The weakness she had to fix
Early on the bike leg cost her races, most visibly at London 2012 where a puncture ended her medal chances. The fix was years of specific work on the thing she was worst at rather than more of what she was already good at.
Rio
By 2016 she was the runner in the field nobody could stay with off the bike, and she took gold. The build to it included systematic mental rehearsal of race scenarios, crisis moments included, which is why she turns up in this checkpoint.
Then the marathon
She moved to the marathon afterwards with an openly stated goal of Olympic gold, and it has been much harder than the switch to triathlon was. The attempt is still worth studying, including the parts that have not worked.
Rehearse the crisis, not the trophy. And spend your winter on the thing you are worst at.
All 26 case studies. Profiles are factual and drawn from the public record. Where a performance carries an asterisk, this app says so rather than leaving it out.