Unheralded German Jan Frodeno out-sprinted three big names in the four-man leading pact to win the men's triathlon title here Tuesday at the Beijing Olympics.

Frodeno staged a last-gasp sprint, overtaking Simon Whitfield of Canada, pre-race favorites Francisco Javier Gomez of Spain and Bevan Docherty of New Zealand in a classic finish at the triathlon venue, crossing the finish line in 1 hour 48 minutes and 53 seconds.

Whitfield, who won the inaugural Olympic triathlon gold at Sydney 2000, was second five seconds behind.

Docherty, the silver medalist in Athens, took the third place 12 seconds adrift.

Both Whitfield and Docherty managed to finish on Olympic podium twice.

Gomez was heavily favored to win here before the race, but just faded away in the sprint and came fourth.

Gomez has won every major titles in the sport over the last two years, including this year's world championships and the test event staged over the Olympic course last year.

It's Luxemburg's Dirk Bockel and Belgium's Axel Zeebroek who led the cycling race and a batch of 16 followed up including the medallists until a batch of six came up to the front.

After lap two, the Spanish duo Gomez and Ivan Rana and the three medallists came up to streamline the lead until the final sprint took place.

The less known Frodeno took the advantage of sprint to finish top in the race.

(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2008)