Katie Zaferes

Katie Zaferes has gone from thinking that she didn’t stand a chance of earning a living from triathlon to becoming a World and two-time Super League champion. Katie grew up in Hampstead, Maryland, USA, and was always an active child. However, her focus was on playing sport for fun and being with her friends as she focussed on soccer and Lacrosse.

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She was also a keen swimmer as well as a runner, representing North Carroll High School. Triathlon was a hobby – she raced for the first time in a local event with her dad after school one day – and thoughts of a career were not even on the horizon until she was encouraged to take part in collegiate recruitment programmes.

Even then, Katie wasn’t so sure. Her father set off with her on a long trek, driving her 14 hours until, one hour away from the spot where she would compete to get into the USAT programme, she changed her mind and urged him to stop the car and take her home. He talked her into completing the journey, and Katie has never looked back.

The Syracuse University graduate initially found the going tough, regularly feeling as if she was struggling in races against her peers, but soon warmed into it and stepped into the elite ranks in 2013, where she enjoyed quick success by winning two ITU World Cup races. Things really took an upward trajectory for Katie when she teamed up with Joel Filliol in 2014, having been so desperate to work with him that she begged him to coach her.

Katie was then on a very steady rise to the top. Over the course of five years, she finished 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd and, in 2019, 1st in the WTS Series, finally realising her dream of becoming World Champion and competing at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Zaferes was also proving her worth in the super short course arena of Super League Triathlon as she won the 2018 season and finished top of the rankings again in 2019.

Katie faced a nervous wait to see whether she would be selected for the USA team for the Tokyo Olympics, but got the nod. She showed great resilience to get herself in top shape despite dealing with the tragic loss of her father and produced a stunning race to take a bronze medal in the individual event and backed that up with a silver in the Mixed Team relay.

After a shaky start to the Super League Triathlon 2021 Championship Series, she came good towards the end to finish third overall. That didn’t seem likely after finishing fourth in London and Munich and then seventh in Jersey. However, on home soil she produced a superb display to get onto the podium in third in Malibu and take third overall, which was a positive result even though her dominance at Super League couldn’t be continued.

She lives with her husband, Tommy, a fellow professional triathlete and triathlon photographer.