BEIJING • Looking at Hunter Kemper’s face after Monday’s triathlon, it would’ve been easy to think the three-time Olympian finally had reached the podium.

Kemper didn’t reach the podium, but the Colorado Springs resident was almost jubilant after covering the 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike ride and 10-kilometer run in 1 hour, 49 minutes, 48.75 seconds.

The time was good for seventh, Kemper’s best finish in three Olympics. American Jerrod Shoemaker finished 18th and Boulder’s Matt Reed was 32nd.

“It was a great day for me,” Kemper said. “I felt like I was soaring on wings like eagles.”

Germany’s Jan Frodeno won the race in a dramatic sprint.

With the Mang Mountains overlooking the Ming Reservoir and heat rising from an aqua blue running surface as the backdrop, Canada’s Simon Whitfield began to kick about 200 meters from the finish, easily passing Spaniard Javier Gomez and New Zealand’s Bevan Docherty. Whitfield passed Frodeno, too. But Frodeno responded with a grimacing kick and overtook the Canadian to win in 1:48:53.28.

Whitfield finished 5.19 seconds later. Docherty took the bronze in 1:49:05.59.

The lead group simply had too much for everybody in the run. Through 7 kilometers, the leaders were averaging about a 2:50 kilometer, which is unusually good in a triathlon.

“I was surprised by how long everyone hung on,” Kemper said. “I thought they’d actually come back even more. I’m surprised that the top four or five guys stayed out there and kept plugging along. It was so warm and so hot and on this blue tarp, it’s really warm.

“I was right where I wanted to be. I was top-five coming in off the bike. I started the run well. A lot of guys came back to me. I just kept on picking them off. I did all I could. That’s all I had.”

Taking notesShoemaker, competing in his first Olympics, shared Kemper’s near-jubilant feeling. At 26, Shoemaker has yet to reach his prime triathlon years. For him, like many first-time Olympians, the race was a learning experience.

“I still have a little ways to go on the bike,” he said. “I made huge, huge gains in the swim, and my run is exactly where I want it.”

Nothing leftReed was the only member of Team USA not happy with his performance. He had a short-lived attempt at a breakaway during the ride.

“It’s definitely disappointing,” he said. “I can’t explain why I felt so bad out there today. I struggled all day.”

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