After college, Jorgensen was working a regular job as an accountant at Ernst & Young when USA Triathlon's Barb Lindquist suggested she try a triathlon.

She started as a swimmer at the University of Wisconsin before joining the cross country and track teams, where she earned All-American honors. Jorgensen's original Olympic journey is the stuff of legends. 'It's a lot more fun than we've ever had,' he said. 'Gwen has nothing to prove,' said her husband and agent, Pat Lemieux. The whole family, plus the in-laws to help with the kids, have headed to New Zealand for the start of this final Olympic run. That includes the possibility of letting her kids see what it's like to chase their dreams, even if they fall short. So on Saturday, just three months after those earliest days of training, the 36-year-old will compete at the Oceania Triathlon Cup in New Zealand, in a long-shot bid to make the 2024 Olympic team for Paris. Later, she rode 20 minutes on a stationary bike, pleasantly surprised with how good she felt. She ran one minute, then walked for five. This past November, two kids and more than six years later, Jorgensen set out to make her return to the sport. She was the most dominant woman triathlete in history. its first Olympic gold medal in triathlon and broke into tears. In front of cheering crowds on the Copacabana Beach, she won the U.S. Olympic Sports, Summer Olympics, TriathlonĪt the 2016 Rio Olympics, Gwen Jorgensen pulled away on the final lap of the run to cross the finish line, far ahead of second place. Why Gwen Jorgensen, the best triathlete in history, is making the unlikeliest of comebacks

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Gwen Jorgensen by Elizabeth Jorgensen