Taylor Knibb on bouncing back from “highly stressful and unpleasant” Olympics to target a long-course triple crown

Few triathletes have sparked quite as much attention as pro Taylor Knibb. The Ivy League-educated, Washington DC native, whose mother was an age-group long-distance world champion, started competing in swim, bike and run when she was 15.

Her progression in the sport was swift, winning three world titles over the next five years. 

Known as much for her bike strength as her often hilarious, straight-shooting press interviews, 27-year-old Knibb now boasts a hugely impressive podium- finishes–to-race-starts ratio, with several jaw-dropping performances that will be studied by generations of budding tri stars for years to come. 

For example, when she finished second at the 2017 WTS Edmonton, to become the youngest podium finisher in World Triathlon history at just 19; when she won the 2021 World Triathlon Grand Final in Edmonton, beating short-course legend Flora Duffy and riding more than 2:30mins quicker than the entire field; when she finished almost 17mins ahead of five-time world Ironman champion Daniela Ryf at the 2021 Collins Cup; when she took fourth place in her full-distance debut – at the 2023 Ironman Worlds in Kona; or when she won four T100s from four starts to be crowned inaugural T100 champion in 2024. Knibb is poised for another podium-topping season. 

At the end of April she raced her second-ever Ironman, in Texas, finishing runner-up to GB’s Kat Matthews (whose 8:10:34 was, for five weeks, a new women’s Ironman world record). The result secured Knibb a return ticket to Hawaii in October, which, along with the defence of both her 70.3 and T100 titles, in November and December respectively, are the three career-defining targets in her season’s crosshairs. 

Could she make tri history? Don’t doubt it for a second. 

220: Congratulations on last season. What was your biggest take home from 2024? What did it teach you about yourself as an athlete? 

TK: Thank you. I think I’m still processing and learning from all that I was fortunate enough to experience in 2024. One big takeaway for me though is that I still have so much to learn and work on. 

220: Which of your many great race performances stands out to you? And why? 

TK: Last year, I would say that my best race was the USA Cycling Time Trial Nationals in Charleston, WV. It was the race that probably surprised me the most (positively) and is one of my favourite memories of 2024.

220: Much had been made about you going head-to- head with Kat Matthews in Texas. How do you process that kind of media attention? Is it beneficial in any way in how you approach the race? 

TK: I was very intrigued why so much attention was being given. While Ironman Texas was in both of our race schedules, it served very different purposes in our overall season goals and plans. Kat’s goal is the Ironman Pro Series and she wants a perfect score, thus a win in Texas was necessary for that. 

My goals this season are Kona, 70.3 Worlds and the T100 Series. But in order to race Kona, I needed to qualify. So, my team and I chose Texas for the relatively minimal travel and early-season timing there were back-up options in case it didn’t go to plan). 

It’s tough to explain nuance, especially to the media. I’m the only one who can set and define my goals and what success is. For me, it was a fantastic opportunity to get to line up with Kat and see where I am currently against one of the best athletes at the distance in the world. It’s great, honest feedback. 

220: Tell us more about your work with movement specialist Lawrence van Lingen. 

TK: I first met Lawrence three years ago. He would come to Boulder every couple of weeks and treat a number of athletes there. My strength coach, Erin Carson, introduced the two of us. She said she thought that he could play an integral role in my career and she was most definitely entirely accurate. 

I lucked out tremendously: in June of 2023, Lawrence moved to Boulder, which most definitely changed the trajectory of my career. In the past two years, he’s helped me get to many start lines that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. 

And I’ve been transformed as an athlete and person – how I approach and see training and the world and life in general. I don’t want to jinx anything, but the combination of Lawrence and Dan [Lorang] have allowed me to, step- by-step, regain some consistency in my run training.

I think if you look at the path/trajectory I was potentially heading down in 2021, 2022, and the start of 2023, it just was not going to end well. I could not see it in the moment. But now I can. 

In the 10 months between 1 June 2022 and 1 April 2023, I took off at least seven months from running. If people knew how many MRIs I got from the time I moved to Boulder (January 2021) and September 2023, they would be horrified. 

I would say that his approach just makes sense on so many levels. When you feel it in your body, you just know. Probably most importantly, it’s who Lawrence is as a person. He’s incredibly wise, patient, intelligent, and kind. I feel so incredibly privileged and grateful to work with him. 

A day in the life of Taylor Knibb

Taylor has very kindly provided two days’ worth of ‘life’ for us to nosy over… 

Example Saturday

6:40am: Wake-up, followed by breakfast and reading (my non-fiction book) 

7:35am: Depart for the pool 

8-9:15am: Swim (4-5km), quality Drive from pool to track 

9:45am: Pre-run 

10-11:30am: Run workout Go home, shower, eat, and relax 

3-5pm: Easy ride 

Get home, shower, prep dinner 

~5:45 pm: Eat dinner Then rest/relax, maybe an evening walk 

In bed by 8pm, lights off by 8:30/9pm 

Example Sunday: 

6:30am: Wake up, followed by breakfast and reading (my non-fiction book) 

7:25-7:45am: Pre-run 

7:45-7:55am Drive to run 

8:00-9:45am: Long run

Drive home, shower, eat 

11:15am: Head out for ride, recently with intervals (e.g. 4:15hr ride with 3 x 45mins) 

~3:30 pm: Get home, shower, change, have snack (and/or meal) 

5:30-6pm: Eat dinner Then rest/relax, maybe an evening walk 

In bed by 8pm, lights off by 8:30/9pm 

220: And the same question, but with regards Dan Lorang and his guidance. 

TK: I started working with Dan in November 2023. I had gone into Kona 2023 without a coach and I feel very fortunate that Dan was willing to take a chance and work with me. Dan has also completely transformed my training and approach to it. He has a very specific reason for why we do each thing that we do. 

I’m very grateful that I can always ask why we’re doing something and he will always answer it thoughtfully and thoroughly. His approach is very step-by-step based and it also just makes so much sense. 

We’re about 18 months into working together, and I’m still excited when he loads up my upcoming week’s training to see what I get to do. 

Dan is very smart in terms of knowing what to prescribe for workouts. But probably more importantly, he knows that athletes are humans not machines and he listens. 

That mix is incredibly rare and powerful. And most importantly, he’s also an incredible person – so thoughtful, grounded, smart, a wonderful mix of both humble and confident, and quite joyous. 

I’ve learned so much from him on so many levels. I’m super thankful to get to work with him and I have the utmost trust in him. 

220: Talk us through your training set-up. 

TK: I live in Boulder, Colorado, and for the most part, with the exception of travelling for races, I’m here. I have a fantastic swim group that I get to train with. But then I do most of my cycling on my own and Lawrence joins me for many of my key runs. 

220: What motivates you to get you up in the morning and train? 

TK: Honestly, I get this question a lot and I have never had a good answer for it. Most days, I am super excited to wake up and get to do what I get to do. 

Now I will say, it’s tremendously liberating for me to have a coach to prescribe what I need to do each day. It reduces the amount of thinking and then it defines when I’m done (otherwise I would always want to do more). 

A few weeks ago, I came across this quote from Naval Ravikant about the liberation of a job you love: “When you truly work for yourself, you won’t have hobbies, you won’t have weekends, and you won’t have vacations, but you won’t have work either.” 

Taylor’s career highlights 

The incredible race stats of one of tri’s greatest athletes. And just think, she’s still only 27… 3 x Ironman 70.3 World Champion (2022, 2023, 2024)

2024 T100 champion 

2 x Olympic mixed relay silver medallist (Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024) 

4th, 2023 Ironman World Champs (also her Ironman debut) 

3rd overall, 2022 World Triathlon Championship Series 

2nd overall, 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series 

2018 World Triathlon U23 Champion 

2 x World Triathlon Junior Champion (2016, 2017) 

220: What do you do in your downtime to relax and switch off from training? What keeps you grounded? 

TK: I read a fair amount. I like to be reading both a fiction and a non-fiction book at all times. 

For some reason, it really relaxes me and allows me to switch off from training. 

I also like to spend time with friends and family. I’m grateful to have many amazing people in my life who are incredibly honest with me and give great perspective. Staying at home and in my routine helps keep me grounded. 

220: A year on from Paris, how have you processed your three race days [Taylor raced the cycling time-trial, individual triathlon and the mixed team relay]? 

TK: I have dedicated a lot of time and energy and thought to processing those days. They’re done and can never be changed. 

But what I’ve thought about a lot is how I want to move forward and what I want to do. It’s also two different sports to consider. 

With cycling, despite everything that happened that day [Taylor crashed several times in wet conditions and suffered a mechanical before finishing 19th], I fell further in love with the time trial. 

It’s an amazing discipline and event. 

But after the triathlon, I initially felt liberated because I realised that I never had to line up for another short-course race again if I did not want to. 

It was a drastically different reaction. So, the question is: do I want to line up again? And why? 

And then there’s a huge difference between merely lining up to a singular short-course race again and wanting to try and qualify for LA – and trying to be competitive there. 

I am definitely always going to have a lot of disappointment surrounding those days and what happened [she also finished 19th in the individual race, but took silver in the mixed relay]. 

It would be an issue if I didn’t, given everything that so many people on my team and I invested. I have found a level of acceptance and peace with the days, which is I think the best I can hope/ask for. 

I really did not enjoy my experience in Paris as a whole. The Olympics, for me, are highly stressful and unpleasant. I definitely have worked to consider my relationship with the Olympics as an event. 

I need to if I ever want to go back. I definitely learned a lot. 

220: What are your least and most favourite training sessions and why?

TK: I trust Dan’s plan immensely. Big picture, I love every training session that is a part of that plan and then a session that deviates from that plan (without Dan’s intention/planning due to feedback from me on how training is going and I’m doing) – whether it’s too hard/easy relative to the intention or it’s in addition or skipped – is my least favourite. 

220: What is it about T100 racing that suits you so well do you think? 

TK: That’s a good question. I think the 20m drafting rule on the bike cannot go unacknowledged. It’s a great blend of short- and long-course racing.

I think there are some skills that I’ve learned from short-course racing that I get to use – like swim dynamics, the looped-course format, dealing with the traveling, etc. and then there are some other skills from 70.3 racing that I get to use (like the race distance, time trial biking, etc.). 

I also think that at this point in my career/development, the distances across swim, bike, and run are pretty perfect for me. 

220: What did you make of Singapore T100 [Taylor sat it out due to “personal reasons”]? 

TK: I definitely looked it up and am aware of the results, but I didn’t watch the whole race. Kate Waugh was incredibly impressive. [After we spoke to Knibb, she would race San Francisco T100 at the end of May, where she finished second behind first-time winner, Julie Derron (SUI). Despite her first ‘loss’ over the 100k since she posted another second at the PTO US Open in 2022, Knibb was pleased with her performance: “I feel like I’m just missing a few gears but it’s early season and I’m grateful to be here and racing. I’ll take it. I have a lot of work to do and that shows, but I’m thrilled for Julie and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.” Two weeks later she won Vancouver T100.] 

220: If you could steal any triathlete’s skills, whose and what would you choose and why? 

TK: I wouldn’t want to do that; whatever skills another athlete has they’ve developed and earned themselves. I will continue working to better my capabilities.