{"id":13025,"date":"2022-04-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-13T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=13025"},"modified":"2022-04-19T15:07:43","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T13:07:43","slug":"state-of-play-usa-tri-factor-could-be-olympic-trifecta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/2022\/04\/14\/state-of-play-usa-tri-factor-could-be-olympic-trifecta\/","title":{"rendered":"State of play: USA tri factor could be Olympic trifecta"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Daniel Seex<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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USA TRI FACTOR COULD BE OLYMPIC TRIFECTA<\/h2>\n\n

Triathlon is ready to be sworn in as a fully-fledged women\u2019s college sport in the US <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\n\n

Interviewing Britain\u2019s Sophie Coldwell for 220\u2019s <\/em>last issue [Pro Q&A] I asked about the importance of \u2018getting on the wheel\u2019 of Olympic champion Flora Duffy during the bike leg. \u201cOr Taylor Knibb\u2019s ,\u201d was Coldwell\u2019s rapid response.<\/p>\n\n

It was a reminder that Knibb is making some impression at the senior level of this sport. Last year, aged 23, she became the youngest woman ever to qualify for the US Olympic tri team. Silver in the mixed relay followed, she set the fastest women\u2019s time at the inaugural Collins Cup in Slovakia, and won the World Triathlon Grand Final in Edmonton.<\/p>\n\n

Knibb graduated from Cornell University in 2020 where she competed in NCAA track and crosscountry for four years and joined the swim team for her final year. She also squeezed in a bit of tri \u2013 becoming youth and U23 world champion.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cImagine the results the USA might produce if athletes of this calibre had scholarships\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

As a hybrid way of competing, it has served her \u2013 and others \u2013 well. Alongside Britain, the USA leads the world in women\u2019s competition. Gwen Jorgensen won Olympic gold in 2016; Katie Zafares bronze in 2021. Like Knibb, both competed at single sports throughout college, as did the third US Tokyo Olympian, Summer Rappaport. Unlike Knibb they were all recruited to tri mid-20s and post-education.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

So, imagine the results the USA might produce if athletes of this calibre attended university on tri scholarships, trained by high-level coaches, learning their trade through high-level competition \u2013 even being given kit in their formative years to fast-track progress.<\/p>\n\n

That\u2019s the step the National Collegiate Athletic Association is about to take after women\u2019s tri \u2013 nominated as an emerging sport since 2014 \u2013 reached its target of being included in 40 college programmes.<\/p>\n\n

USA Triathlon gave around $3.5 million in grants to institutions to develop their varsity women\u2019s triathlon programmes, resulting in its ascent to fully-fledged NCAA sport status, replete with all the scholarships, competition, backing and exposure that goes with it. From 40 programmes, opportunities are now likely to rise exponentially. It doesn\u2019t guarantee world domination. The coaching and support structure has to be correct, of course. But after that it becomes a numbers game to an extent. Consider that around 500,000 US highschoolers run track, 220,000 crosscountry and 175,000 swim.<\/p>\n\n

If even a fraction cross over to triathlon then it\u2019s a turbo boost for the USA\u2019s fortunes. Net result? Brace yourself to see the Stars & Stripes billowing above far more Olympic podiums in the years to come. Only Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand have won two individual tri medals on the same Olympic podium. It might take until 2028 and beyond, but what price the USA women for that trifecta?<\/p>\n\n

\n\n
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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

TIM HEMING<\/strong>
Cutting through the spin of tri to address the issues that matter, Tim is a sports journalist who has written extensively on triathlon for the national press.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

USA TRI FACTOR COULD BE OLYMPIC TRIFECTA Triathlon is ready to be sworn in as a fully-fledged women\u2019s college sport in the US Interviewing Britain\u2019s Sophie Coldwell for 220\u2019s last issue [Pro Q&A] I asked about the importance of \u2018getting on the wheel\u2019 of Olympic champion Flora Duffy during the bike leg. \u201cOr Taylor Knibb\u2019s 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TRI FACTOR COULD BE OLYMPIC TRIFECTA Triathlon is ready to be sworn in as a fully-fledged women\u2019s college sport in the US Interviewing Britain\u2019s Sophie Coldwell for 220\u2019s last issue [Pro Q&A] I asked about the importance of \u2018getting on the wheel\u2019 of Olympic champion Flora Duffy during the bike leg. \u201cOr Taylor 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