Ben Kanute

Career Highlights

2019 Chengdu ITU Triathlon World Cup silver medalist
2019 ITU World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series Abu Dhabi silver medalist
2019 ITU World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series Tokyo bronze medalist
2018 Hamburg ITU Mixed Relay World Championships bronze medalist
2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship silver medalist
2017 Island House Triathlon champion
2017 ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships silver medalist
2016 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team Member (29th)
2016 ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships gold medalist
2015 USA Triathlon Elite National Champion
2013 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships, men's overall draft-legal sprint and Olympic-distance champion
2010 USA Triathlon Junior Elite National Champion
2008 USA Triathlon Junior Elite National Champion 

Personal

Ben Kanute became interested in triathlon after watching his dad race when he was just seven years old. He competed on USA Triathlon’s youth elite and junior elite circuits, winning one national title as a youth elite and two as a junior elite. He attended the University of Arizona and competed on the school’s club triathlon team, winning both the sprint- and Olympic-distance titles at the 2013 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships. Kanute earned his first ITU Triathlon World Cup medal in 2014 and was named to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, placing 29th at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Kanute now races both on the ITU World Triathlon Series circuit and the IRONMAN 70.3 circuit. In 2017 he earned a silver medal at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship. He enjoys triathlon because it allows him to be outside and test the limits of his body. He has a tradition of watching a bad made-for-TV movie the night before a race. In his free time when he is not racing, he enjoys hanging out in cafes, watching Netflix, playing Xbox, reading and grilling food.

Elite Triathlon Career

2019: Placed 29th at the ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi, on March 8 • Earned silver as a member of the U.S. Mixed Relay team at the ITU World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series Abu Dhabi, on March 9 • Won the Bridgetown CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon American Cup, on April 21 • Earned silver at the Chengdu ITU Triathlon World Cup, on May 12• Placed 23rd at the ITU World Triathlon Montreal, on June 29 • Finished 7th at the ITU World Triathlon Edmonton, on July 20 • Teamed up with Summer Rappaport, Seth Rider and Tamara Gorman to earn a bronze medal at the ITU World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series stop in Tokyo on Aug. 18

2018: Finished 19th at the ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi, on March 2 • Earned silver as a member of the U.S. Mixed Relay team at the Sarasota-Bradenton CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon American Cup and North American Championships, on March 10 • Won the Sarasota-Bradenton CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon American Cup and North American Championships, on March 11 • Finished 34th at the ITU World Triathlon Bermuda, on April 28 •Earned bronze as a member of the U.S. Mixed Relay team at the Hamburg ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships, on July 15

2017: Claimed victory at the Island House Triathlon, a multi-stage race in the Bahamas, from Nov. 17-18 • Placed 15th at the Sarasota ITU Triathlon (Duathlon) World Cup on Oct. 7 • Finished 42nd at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on Sept. 14 • Won a silver medal with a breakthrough performance at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Sept. 9 • Earned two consecutive WTS top-25 finishes at ITU World Triathlon Edmonton on July 28 (22nd) and ITU World Triathlon Montreal on Aug. 5 (23rd) • Was a member of the silver-medal-winning U.S. team at the Hamburg ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships on July 16 with teammates Matt McElroy, Kirsten Kasper and Katie Zaferes • Finished 36th at ITU World Triathlon Hamburg on July 15 • Placed 23rd at ITU World Triathlon Gold Coast on April 8 • Recorded an 11th-place finish at the New Plymouth ITU Triathlon World Cup on April 2 • Opened the season with a 16th-place finish at ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi on March 3

2016: Placed 50th at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Cozumel, Mexico, on Sept. 11 • Recorded a 29th-place finish at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 18 • Placed 32nd at ITU World Triathlon Hamburg on July 16 • Posted the fastest individual split during the ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships to lead the U.S. to its first world title in the event • Qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team with a 17th-place finish at World Triathlon Yokohama on May 14 • Earned his spot on the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team as the third-ranked man in the USA Triathlon Objective Rankings System based on his performance in Yokohama and in the 2015 WTS Grand Final in Chicago • Finished 11th at the New Plymouth ITU World Cup after a gutsy bike leg where he made a break from the field • Opened his season with a win at a CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon American Cup in Clermont, Florida, followed by a fourth place finish at the CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon American Championships in Sarasota, Florida 

2015: Won his first elite-level USA Triathlon national title as the top U.S. finisher at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Chicago, which doubled as the USA Triathlon Elite National Championships • Finished 20th overall at the Grand Final and finished the 2015 season as the top-ranked American man in the ITU World  Triathlon Series • Posted a ninth-place finish at ITU World Triathlon Auckland for his best career WTS finish

2014: Closed out the season with a silver medal at the Tongyeong ITU World Cup on Oct. 18, his best finish in an ITU World Cup event • Earned a top-10 finish at the ITU Under-23 World Championships, finishing sixth in 1:54:01 • Finished a career-best 11th place at ITU World Triathlon Stockholm on Aug. 23 • Placed 5th as a member of the U.S. team at the Hamburg ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships • Placed 4th at the U23 Dallas PATCO Triathlon Pan American Championships • Finished runner-up at the Sarasota PATCO Sprint Triathlon Pan American Championships

2013: Placed third at the Dallas ITU Pan American Cup on June 1 • Placed third at Holten ITU Sprint Triathlon Premium European Cup on June 29 • Placed 14th at July 6 ITU World Triathlon Kitzbuehel • Part of third place relay team at July 21 ITU Mixed Team Relay World Championships • Finished 17th at Tiszaujvaros ITU World Cup on August 10 • Placed 28th in U23 division at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final London on September 11 • Finished 43rd at Cozumel ITU World Cup on October 6 • Won individual titles in both the draft-legal sprint-distance and the Olympic-distance races at the 2013 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships

2012: Finished fifth at 2012 Geneva ITU European Cup and was ninth at the 2012 Holten Premium ITU European Cup • Finished third overall and was the undergraduate champion at the 2012 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships • Finished sixth at the 2012 USA Triathlon Elite National Championships in Buffalo, N.Y.

Amateur Triathlon Career: Won the 2008 and 2010 USA Triathlon Junior Elite national titles and was the 2007 USA Triathlon Youth Elite National Championships winner • Five-time USA Triathlon All-America selection • Represented the U.S. at the 2009, 2010 and 2011 ITU Junior World Championships • Bronze medalist at the 2009 Pan American Junior Championship • Won the 2008 16-19 age group world title

Olympic Experience

• 1-time Olympian
• Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro 2016, 29th (Olympic Distance - Men)

World Championships Experience

• Most recent: 2021 – 80th (Individual Ranking - Men)
• Years of participation: Individual Ranking - Men 2021; Team Relay - Mixed 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
• Medals: 4 (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
• Gold – 2016 (Team Relay - Mixed)
• Silver – 2017 (Team Relay - Mixed)
• Bronze – 2018 (Team Relay - Mixed); 2013 (Team Relay - Mixed)