Gwen Jorgensen, a former tax accountant at Ernst & Young, won the gold medal on Saturday at the Triathlon in the Rio Olympic games.
Jorgensen took time out from her job to train full-time for the games. She previously competed in 2012 at the London Games. You can read about her here (see
She explained her work vs. workout routine to Accounting Today's Danielle Lee back in 2012, saying, “When I was working, I'd wake up, swim from about 5:30-7 a.m., run for about an hour, head to work at Ernst & Young, come home, go for a bike ride, lift, and go to bed. Now that I'm on a leave, I'm able to recover more in between workouts...and sleep in more, which spoils me.”
However, a flat tire in the bike race part of the Triathlon dashed her Olympic hopes four years ago. She quit her day job as an accountant, and went full-time into training in Australia, Spain and St. Paul, Minn. The CPA came back to win the International Triathlon Union's 2014 and 2015 World Triathlon Series Championship, and on Saturday she earned the gold medal in Rio for the women's triathlon.
Way to go, Gwen!
