ITU Moments of 2017: Jake Birtwhistle Miscounts Laps at WTS Edmonton in Oops Moment

In this video, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) recalls when Australian triathlete Jake Birtwhistle bolted for the finish line too early after miscounting laps at World Triathlon Edmonton 2017. He recovered quickly after jumping over a barrier and returning to the course. Then, Spain’s Mario Mola caught up with him, and surpassed him, before claiming his fourth World Triathlon Series (WTS) gold title of the year in 00:54:51.

Birtwhistle still managed to finish the race for a silver medal, just 10 seconds behind Mola. South Africa’s Richard Murray took bronze with a 00:55:06 finish. Without that mistake, Birtwhistle would have won by a large margin. He first sped ahead of Mola with only three kilometres to go before the blunder.

Birtwhistle also claimed silver at World Triathlon Hamburg the same year. He won gold in the Mixed Relay World Championships Hamburg. He did not finish the WTS Grand Final in Rotterdam