Taylor Knibb

Name: Taylor Knibb
Sport: Triathlon
Birthdate: Febuary 14, 1998
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Current Residence: Boulder, Colo.
High School: Sidwell Friends School (Washington, D.C.), ‘16
College: Cornell University '20, Psychology

Olympic Experience

• One-time Olympian (2020)
• Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, silver (Mixed Relay), 16th (Individual)

Career Highlights
2022 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion
2022 World Triathlon Championship Series Rankings Overall Third
2021 World Triathlon Championship Series Rankings Overall Second
2021 World Triathlon Championship Series Finals Edmonton gold medalist
Five-time World Triathlon Championship Series medalist (2 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)
2020 U.S. Olympic Silver Medalist (Mixed Relay)
2020 Olympic Games, 16th (Individual)
2019 ITU U23-Junior Mixed Relay World Championships bronze medalist
2019 ITU World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series Edmonton bronze medalist
2018 ITU Under-23 World Champion
2018 ITU Triathlon World Cup Lausanne silver medalist
Two-time ITU Junior World Champion (2016, 2017)
2017 USA Triathlon U23 National Champion
2017 Sarasota CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon American Cup bronze medalist
2016 Montreal ITU Triathlon World Cup bronze medalist
2016 Kitzbühel ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup gold medalist
2015, 2016 USA Triathlon Junior National Champion
2015 ITU Junior World Championships silver medalist

Personal

At 23, Knibb was the youngest woman ever to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team. Knibb was inspired to become a triathlete as a child after she watched her mom, Leslie Knibb, compete in an IRONMAN race and noticed the positive atmosphere. She tried a kids’ race and was hooked on the sport from there, working her way through USA Triathlon’s youth elite and junior elite pipelines. Up to this day, her favorite part of competing in triathlons is the camaraderie within the triathlon community, as well as the challenge of always growing and improving within the sport. In high school, she joined her school’s cross-country team and swam for Nation's Capital Swim Club while continuing to compete in triathlons. She was named the Washington D.C. Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year and the D.C. State Athletic Association Runner of the Year in both 2014 and 2015. She was the 2015 and 2016 USA Triathlon Junior Elite national champion, the 2015 ITU Junior World Championships silver medalist, the 2016 and 2017 ITU Junior World Champion and the 2018 Under-23 World Champion— one of just three women ever to capture world titles at both the Junior and U23 levels. She also became the youngest woman to earn a spot on the podium at an ITU World Triathlon Series race in 2017, earning silver in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Knibb is a 2020 graduate of Cornell, where she ran NCAA track and cross-country for four years while balancing her elite triathlon career. She also joined the Cornell swim team her senior year. Today, Knibb trains in Boulder, Colorado, with Origin Performance Squad, an elite international training group coached by Ian O’Brien. Knibb considers the ITU Under-23 World Championships to be one of her favorite moments of her career because she accomplished a solid performance across all three disciplines. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, she placed 16th overall in the individual event, but earned the silver medal at the debut Mixed Relay event alongside teammates Katie Zaferes, Morgan Pearson and Kevin McDowell. In 2022, Knibb also became the youngest woman to ever win the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in St. George, Utah. 

Elite Triathlon Career

2022: Started the World Triathlon Championship Series at the 2022 opener in Yokohama, Japan where she finished sixth overall on May 14 • After some time off to recover from injury, returned to the season in October and earned the bronze medal at the World Triathlon Championship Series Cagliari • A month later progressed to claim the silver medal at the World Triathlon Championship Series Bermuda race on November 6 • Finished the season placing fourth at the World Triathlon Championship Series Final in Abu Dhabi, which landed her a third-place overall podium finish in the Series.

2021: Won gold at the 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series Yokohama on May 15, qualifying for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team • Made her Olympic debut on July 27 in Tokyo, placing 16th in the women's individual event • Won a silver medal in the debut of Triathlon Mixed Relay at the Olympic Games, alongside U.S. teammates Katie Zaferes, Kevin McDowell and Morgan Pearson. Knibb is the youngest U.S. triathlete ever to win an Olympic medal • Placed second overall in the super sprint challenge weekend at the Groupe Copley 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal on August 14 • Claimed victory at the World Triathlon Championship Series Finals Edmonton on August 21, which put her second overall in the world rankings to end the 2021 season • Placed fifth at the World Triathlon Championship Series in Abu Dhabi on November 5, with her points earned counting towards the 2022 WTCS rankings

2019: Placed fourth at ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi on March 8, just three seconds off the podium • Finished 5th at the World Triathlon Montreal, on June 29 • Finished in 41st at Hamburg Wasser World Triathlon, on July 6 • Finished in 21st at the ITU World Triathlon Edmonton, on July 20 • Teamed up with Summer Rappaport, Seth Rider and Morgan Pearson to earn bronze at the ITU World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series Edmonton, on July 21 • Placed 16th at the Tokyo ITU World Olympic Qualification Event at Odaiba Marine Park on Aug. 15 • Placed 14th at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Aug. 31 • Teamed up with Tamara Gorman, Darr Smith and Seth Rider to earn bronze at the ITU U23-Junior Mixed Relay World Championships in Lausanne on Sept. 1

2018: Earned her third career world title and first in the U23 division with a dominant victory at the ITU Under-23 World Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, on Sept. 12 • Finished 9th at ITU World Triathlon Montreal on August 25 • Claimed a silver medal at the ITU Triathlon World Cup Lausanne on August 18 • Placed 16th at ITU World Triathlon Edmonton on July 27 • Finished 19th at ITU World Triathlon Hamburg on July 14 • Placed 7th at the ITU Triathlon World Cup Tiszaujvaros on July 8 • Finished 19th at the ITU Triathlon World Cup Antwerp on June 17 • Placed 21st at ITU World Triathlon Leeds on June 10 • Finished 23rd at ITU World Triathlon Bermuda on April 28

2017: Successfully defended her ITU Junior World Championships title in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on Sept. 14 • Placed seventh at ITU World Triathlon Montreal on Aug. 5 • Won her first ITU World Triathlon Series medal with a silver in Edmonton on July 28 • Won the USA Triathlon U23 National Championships in West Des Moines, Iowa, on July 9 • Placed fourth at the Cagliari ITU Triathlon World Cup on June 4 • Earned bronze at the Sarasota CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon American Cup on March 11

2016: Earned her first World Cup medal with a bronze in Montreal • Won gold at the ITU Junior World Championships in Cozumel, Mexico • Placed fourth with her team at the ITU Junior Mixed Relay World Championships in Cozumel, Mexico • Earned victories at CAMTRI American Cups in Clermont and Richmond and took silver at a CAMTRI in Sarasota • Took first place at the West Des Moines CAMTRI Junior American Championships • Won her second straight USA Triathlon Junior national title and took home the first-ever USA Triathlon High School National Championship title

2015: Earned a silver medal at the ITU Junior World Championships in Chicago • Won gold at the Monterrey CAMTRI Triathlon American Championships • Gold medalist at the Holten ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup • Won the USA Triathlon Junior National Championships

2014: Placed ninth at the ITU Junior World Championships in Edmonton, Canada • Earned silver at the Monterrey PATCO Youth Olympic Games Qualifier • Dallas PATCO Triathlon Pan American Championships junior bronze medalist • Took third at the USA Triathlon Junior National Championships