Liebe, Lust und Leben » And for anyone thats been around me,

RIO DE JANEIRO -- As she wobbled along on a flat tire four years ago in London, Gwen Jorgensen promised to turn that heartbreak at Hyde Park into a conquering of Copacabana Beach at the Rio Games.She crushed both the course and the competition Saturday, giving the U.S. its first Olympic triathlon gold medal by cruising across the finish line in 1 hour, 56 minutes, 16 seconds.That was 40 seconds ahead of silver medalist Nicola Spirig of Switzerland, who won gold at the 2012 Games after Jorgensens flat tire relegated her to a 38th-place finish.Vicky Holland outsprinted British teammate Non Stanford for the bronze.Jorgensen and Spirig were even until Jorgensen made her move with 2 kilometers left in the 10K final leg that followed a steep, 38.5K bike ride and a one-loop ocean swim.As she approached the blue carpet, Jorgensen turned to look for Spirig, who wasnt even in view around the bend.Her goal within her grasp, Jorgensen lifted her sunglasses to her head and that look of dogged determination shed had since London dissolved into a smile.After crossing the finish line, she reached down and grabbed the green, gold and blue ribbon and held it high above her head in triumph before breaking down in tears.She said she was thinking of all the sacrifices, not just hers, but those of coach Jamie Turner and her husband, Patrick Lemieux, who abandoned his pro cycling career to serve as her operations manager .Ive been pretty vocal about my goal for the past four years. After London, I said I wanted to go to Rio and I wanted to win gold, Jorgensen said. And for anyone thats been around me, they know how much my husband Patrick has invested. Hes given up his career to support me. And then I also have Jamie Turner, who Ive been on this four-year journey with and hes done so much for me.Just thinking about all the investments theyve put into me and thinking about the four years, it all came down to one day, Jorgensen said. And to be able to actually execute on that day is pretty amazing.Jorgensen didnt just fulfill her pledge she made four years ago but she checked off a bucket list box shed long ago erased when she realized she was too slow in the pool to ever be an Olympian.After an All-American track career at the University of Wisconsin, where she also was on the swim team for three years, Jorgensen settled into her first job as an accountant for Ernst & Young in Milwaukee in 2010.One day, the phone rang. It was Barb Lindquist, who was running USA Triathlons college recruitment program. She suggested Jorgensen would be perfect for the sport that combines swimming, cycling and running.Jorgensen didnt even realize triathlon had been added to the Olympic program a decade earlier.She agreed to give triathlon a try and quickly realized she was indeed a natural.She took it up fulltime and has emerged as the best female in the world, collecting 17 career wins in the World Triathlon Series and winning back-to-back ITU world championships before cutting back this year in the lead-up to Rio.On the course where she also won the Olympic qualifying race a year ago, Jorgensen used her superior hill climbing skills to make up a 12-second deficit coming out of the water, surpassing almost all of the 22 racers whod been faster getting ashore in choppy water.By the time she dismounted she was just two seconds behind leader Lisa Norden of Sweden and immediately broke away with Spirig, setting the pace.They took turns drafting until the final 2 kilometers, when they exchanged words and Jorgensen took off.Nicola and I were playing some games, neither of us wanted to lead in the headwind, so it made it exciting for fans, Jorgensen said.Gracious in defeat, Spirig, the only female triathlete with multiple Olympic gold medals, congratulated Jorgensen for not flinching.I tried to tire her out on the bike. I tried to stick with her on the run, Spirig said. I did everything right and she still won, so she definitely deserves the gold.Just 30, Jorgensen would be the favorite in Tokyo in 2020, too.Ive had a four-year plan and Im definitely a planner, Jorgensen said. But I have zero plans for Aug. 21st, so wait and find out.---AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org---AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta contributed. Follow AP Sports Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Cheap Bruins Jerseys Authentic . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. Cheap Boston Bruins Jerseys . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. http://www.cheapbruinsjerseys.com/ . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Cheap Bruins Jerseys China . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Cheap Adidas Bruins Jerseys .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues and restricted free agent forward Jaden Schwartz have avoided arbitration and agreed on a five-year contract extension worth $26.75 million.Re-signing the 24-year-old Schwartz was a top priority for the team, which lost in the Western Conference finals to San Jose. The Blues have given long-term deals to forward Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, but this summer allowed captain David Backes to leave for a free-agent deal with Minnesota.I have no problem giving oout long-term contracts, general manager Doug Armstrong said on the teams website.dddddddddddd You just want to make sure the player is at that level.The arbitration case had been set for Wednesday.In 240 games with St. Louis, the former first-round draft pick has 70 goals and 157 points. He was limited to 33 games by a fractured ankle last season, and had eight goals and 14 assists. ' ' '