Team USA Wins Silver In Triathlon’s Mixed Relay
But in triathlons mixed relay, Taylor Knibb pulled the Americans into a three-way battle for the medals.
5’8”
43
Hanover, NH
Cooperstown High School (Cooperstown, NY.) Middlebury College ‘04, Conservation Biology/ Studio Art
2017: Claimed victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Austin on Oct. 29 • Placed third at IRONMAN 70.3 Edinburgh on July 2 • Earned a silver medal at IRONMAN 70.3 Mont-Tremblant on June 25 • Won silver at IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga on May 21 • Recorded a 34th-place finish at ITU World Triathlon Gold Coast on April 8 • Placed 10th at the New Plymouth ITU Triathlon World Cup on April 2 • Earned silver at the Sarasota CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon American Cup on March 11
2016: Placed seventh at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Cozumel, Mexico, on Sept. 11 • Earned a silver medal at ITU World Triathlon Edmonton on Sept. 3 • Qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team and competed at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Aug. 18 • Posted her first top-10 effort of the season with a ninth place at WTS Cape Town on April 24 • Finished 25th at WTS Gold Coast • Opened her season with WTS Abu Dhabi on March 5, but did not finish the race after being caught in a late-stage bike crash
2015: Ended the season ranked No. 3 in the world to earn her third career ITU World Championships medal • Posted a seventh-place finish at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago • Won her second career WTS title at the Stockholm stop • Qualified for her second U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team spot on Aug. 2 at the Rio de Janeiro ITU Olympic World Qualification Event with a fourth-place finish • Fourth at WTS Hamberg • Finished third at WTS London on May 30 to complete the second U.S. podium sweep of the season • Placed 13th at WTS Cape Town • Earned her first podium finish of the season with a second-place effort at WTS Gold Coast on April 11 • Part of the first-ever U.S. podium sweep in the ITU World Triathlon Series with her silver medal performance in Gold Coast • Logged top-10 finishes at WTS Auckland (eighth; March 28) and WTS Abu Dhabi (ninth; March 7)
2014: Clinched the No. 2 spot in the season world rankings with a fourth-place finish at the Aug. 30 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Edmonton, Alberta • Grabbed her first career World Triathlon Series win at the ITU World Triathlon Stockholm on Aug. 23 • Recorded five top-five finishes in 2014 World Triathlon Series races • Finished 15th at ITU World Triathlon Hamburg following an injury that nearly ended her season • Runner-up at the ITU World Triathlon London on May 31 for her first podium finish on the ITU World Triathlon Series circuit since finishing third in Hamburg in 2012 • Fourth at the ITU World Triathlon Cape Town • Fifth at the ITU World Triathlon Auckland • Finished seventh at the New Plymouth ITU Triathlon World Cup
2013: Earned four top-8 finishes on the 2013 ITU World Triathlon Series circuit (San Diego, Madrid, Stockholm and the London Grand Final) • Won the 2013 Clermont ITU Pan American Cup • Placed second at Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon • Runner-up at USA Triathlon Elite National Championships by virtue of finishing as the second American at the 2013 Omegawave World Triathlon San Diego • Runner-up at Cozumel ITU World Cup behind 2012 Olympic gold medalist Nicola Spirig
2012: Named the 2012 USA Triathlon Olympic/ITU Athlete of the Year • Finished seventh overall and was the No. 1 American for the second straight year in the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series rankings • Placed ninth at the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final in Auckland • Finished seventh at the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Yokohama • Led the U.S. with a fourth-place finish at the 2012 London Olympic Games • On the run, Groff bridged back up to the leaders on the final 2.5k lap before falling 10 seconds short of the podium • Finished third in her final Olympic Games tune-up at the 2012 Dextro Energy Triathlon Hamburg for her second career World Triathlon Series podium finish • Placed 15th at the 2012 ITU World Triathlon San Diego
2011: Named the 2011 USA Triathlon Olympic/ITU Athlete of the Year • Recorded the top season by an American in the three-year history of the ITU World Championship Series in 2011 by placing third overall to earn a spot on the series podium • Finished 10th at the 2011 WCS Grand Final in Beijing to secure her third-place finish in the series • Placed seventh at the Hy-Vee Triathlon Elite Cup • Posted five top-10 finishes in the seven WCS events in 2011 • Finished seventh at the 2011 ITU Elite Sprint World Championships • Part of the U.S. team that took fifth at the 2011 ITU Team Triathlon World Championships • Qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team with a seventh-place finish at the 2011 London WCS event on the proposed Olympic course • Earned the first-ever podium finish in a WCS event by a U.S. woman by taking third in Kitzbühel in 2011 • Posted a then-career-best WCS finish of seventh in Madrid in 2011 • Opened the 2011 season with an eighth-place finish at the Mooloolaba ITU World Cup
2010: Placed second at the 2010 USA Triathlon Elite National Championship in Tuscaloosa, Ala. • Wrapped up the 2010 ITU World Championship Series as the No. 3 American and 20th overall • Placed fifth at the 2010 Toyota U.S. Open Triathlon in Rockwall, Texas • Posted three straight top-12 WCS finishes in 2010 — 10th in Kitzbuhel, 12th in London and eighth in Hamburg on July 18 • Placed 17th at the 2010 Hy-Vee ITU Elite Cup • Took 19th at the 2010 ITU World Championship Series opener in Sydney • Finished fifth at the season-opening 2010 Mooloolaba ITU World Cup
2009 and earlier: Ranked 17th overall and second among Americans in the 2009 ITU World Championship rankings • Posted three top-10 ITU finishes in 2009, including ninth-place showings in Madrid and Washington, D.C. • Finished 2008 ranked No. 4 in the ITU World Cup rankings • Took the San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island title in 2008 and was second at the Huatulco ITU World Cup event • Placed seventh at the 2008 ITU World Championships in Vancouver • Won 2007 Geneva ITU Pan American Cup • Placed fourth at Edmonton World Cup in 2007 • 2007 ITU Aquathlon World Champion • Was second at ITU World Team Championships in Cancun, Mexico
Athletic Background: At Cooperstown High School, ran cross country and track and swam on the boy's swim team, as the school didn't have a girl's team at the time • Transferred to Deerfield Academy as a junior and competed on the cross country and swimming teams, earning All-New England Prep honors • At Division III Middlebury College, swam for four years as a freestyler and earned All-NESCAC and All-America honorsBut in triathlons mixed relay, Taylor Knibb pulled the Americans into a three-way battle for the medals.
Taylor Knibb came to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 as the only Team USA athlete competing in two separate sports.
On June 7, 2024, Kirsten Kasper received a Zoom call from USA Triathlon’s high performance general manager Scott Schnitzspahn. The 32-year-old triathlete was in her car, in her bathing suit, driving home from a pool workout in Boulder, Colorado. She kn...