Spain's Mola wins men's Mooloolaba Triathlon

Published Mar. 15, 2014 12:53 a.m. ET

foxsports

MOOLOOLABA, Australia (AP) Pre-race favorite Mario Mola of Spain won the men's sprint Mooloolaba Triathlon to open the ITU World Cup season on Saturday, while Gwen Jorgensen and Katie Hursey gave the United States a one-two finish in the women's race.

The third-ranked Mola finished the 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer cycle, and 5-kilometer run in a time of 54 minutes, 18 seconds. He was 18 seconds faster than second-place Richard Murray of South Africa.

The Australia-based Jorgensen won the women's race in 59:55, 15 seconds ahead of Hursey. Ai Ueda of Japan was another four seconds back in third.

Defending champion Anne Haug of Germany withdrew with an undisclosed infection, leaving four of the women's top 10 in the field.