One of the most consistent finishers in the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) in recent times, the American Katie Zaferes has already scaled some impressive heights.
She's both world champion and a double Olympic medallist, but there’s still time for more accolades…
Who is Katie Zaferes?
Nothing exemplifies slow and steady progress like the World Triathlon Series record of Katie Zaferes.
In 2015, the year in which she really made the triathlon world turn its head, the Maryland native notched up five silvers across the season, earning her fifth place overall in the series.
The following year, she went one better, ending the season just one spot outside the podium places.
Twelve months later, she made the step onto the podium to take overall bronze. In 2018 – you’ve guessed – she improved on that again, once more edging up the final standings by a single place to take series silver.
And then, sure as night follows day, Zaferes finally made that top spot her own the following year.
Patience was clearly a virtue she has in abundance, calmly improving year on year until being crowned queen of the world.
It’s not only in WTS racing that Zaferes has excelled. In 2017, she was one of the USA quartet who took silver at the world mixed relay championships.
Four years on, she and her team-mates took the same medal at the Tokyo Olympics. And that wasn’t all she returned home from Japan with...
Also in her luggage was the bronze medal from the individual race. Further honours include becoming Super League champion in both 2018 and 2019.
One of the most consistent performers on the World Triathlon circuit over the last seven or so years, it will be fascinating to see if Zaferes can revisit those heights having taken a year out in 2022 to become a mother.
With that in-built trait of delivering steady progress, watch for Zaferes improving on her Olympic medal come Paris in 2024. It may well be what Katie did next.
How old is Katie Zaferes?
Katie Zaferes was born on June 9 1989, making her 34 years of age.
Katie Zaferes’ career highlights
July 2013: A maiden elite victory
At a World Cup race in the Spanish city of Palamós, Zaferes – then still racing as Katie Hursey, two years ahead of her marriage to fellow triathlete Tommy Zaferes – takes not only the first podium of her elite career but also her first win, thanks in main to posting the day’s fastest bike split.
A second World Cup win in Hungary follows a month later.
August 2014: Her first WTS top ten
Zaferes begins to establish herself on the World Triathlon Series circuit with a seventh-place finish in Stockholm. Seven days later, a second top ten is secured at the Grand Final in Edmonton.
March 2015: A double dose of silver
At the two opening races of the new WTS series – in Abu Dhabi and Auckland – Zaferes claims silver in both, taking impressive scalps like Emma Moffatt, Flora Duffy and Zaferes’ compatriot Sarah True.
August 2015: The world is watching
In what has undeniably been her breakthrough year, Zaferes takes another second place in Stockholm, her fifth of the season after further silvers in Cape Town and London.
Sarah True pips her in the Swedish capital after the unbeatable Gwen Jorgensen has denied Zaferes a debut WTS victory everywhere else.
July 2016: The WTS podium’s top step finally beckons
After a bagful of silvers, that maiden WTS victory eventually arrives in Hamburg where a strong bike leg, on the shorter course, means even Jorgensen’s superior running ability can’t reel in Zaferes before the tape.
Disappointment with 18th place at the Rio Olympics the following month is partly assuaged by fourth place overall in the WTS series. Progress, progress, progress.
July 2017: Team USA takes world silver
Twelve months after that golden moment in Hamburg, Zaferes returns to the German port for more medal success, this time as part of the USA squad at the world mixed relay championships.
September 2017: A series bronze for Zaferes
Having finished fifth and fourth overall in the previous two seasons, second place at the Grand Final in Rotterdam allows Zaferes to finally step onto the series podium alongside champion Flora Duffy and runner-up Ashleigh Gentle.
September 2018: Climbing the ladder to silver
Six WTS podiums – including bronze in this month’s Grand Final on the Gold Coast – means another strong season and further progress for Zaferes as she takes the series silver behind Vicky Holland.
That world title is getting nearer.
September 2019: Finally on top of the world
This season has truly belonged to Zaferes. In the Grand Final in Lausanne, she notches up her fifth WTS victory of the year to be crowned world champion.
It’s a particular plucky way to win in Switzerland, coming little more than a fortnight after a particularly nasty bike crash at the Olympic qualifying event in Tokyo.
July 2021: Double Olympic glory
After a couple of Covid-affected seasons and then tragically losing her father in April – and despite not qualifying for Tokyo on account of that bike crash nearly two years earlier – Zaferes is selected for the USA team at the pandemic-delayed Games.
She repays the selectors’ faith by taking a bronze in the individual event and a silver in the mixed relay. Katie Zaferes is now a double Olympic medallist.
August 2021: Ends the year in the top 10
Takes two fourths in Montreal and Edmonton to finish the year in sixth overall.
February 2022: Baby Zaferes is on the way!
Announces that she's pregnant with husband Tommy. The pair welcome son Kimble on 7 July 2022.
June 2023: Top WTCS five in Montreal
After returning to WTCS racing in Abu Dhabi in March – where she finished 37th – she quickly climbs back up the rankings (12th in Cagliari plus several podiums at Americas Cups) before taking fifth in Montreal ahead of compatriots Taylor Knibb and Taylor Spivey.
Katie Zaferes in quotes
On her bike crash during the Tokyo Olympic qualifying event in 2019: “It’s not something I ever thought I’d do – crash going straight. I just turned my head to, I think, yell something to the group and my wheel went into the barrier.”
On winning the world title, just a fortnight after sustaining serious facial injuries in that Tokyo crash: “I was really nervous. I was like, ‘am I going to be able to even race?’ But I ended up winning: winning the Grand Final and winning the world championships. I learned then that all was not lost by crashing.”
On announcing her return to racing after giving birth to her first child: “Before Tokyo, I wasn’t sure if I could balance training and racing and being a mum, but I realised I love my job and I didn’t want to give that up before knowing if it was possible.”
What’s next for Katie Zaferes?
Returning to competition after the arrival last summer of baby Kimble, Zaferes is resolute when it comes to her racing target: the 2024 Olympics.
“I’m definitely thinking towards Paris,” she admits, “but taking it step by step.”
Top image credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images
