Katie Zaferes was one half of a double comeback for the American team in 2023 alongside Gwen Jorgensen. As former world champions and Olympic medallists, their returns made for an exciting narrative to follow throughout the season.
The similarities also extended to the types of comeback they were undertaking. With both navigating their returns after maternity absences from elite competition, they helped to shed additional light to an important conversation for female athletes in triathlon.
While World Triathlon had launched its new maternity policy at the start of the year, having tangible examples in the form of Zaferes and Jorgensen made a world of difference in showing the feasibility of the path for their peers. In addition, Alice Betto and Vicky Holland have made the same type of comebacks (which will be discussed separately) while Bianca Bogen is a live example of an athlete taking a maternity break early in her career.
Of course athletes like Nicola Spirig have thrived in triathlon before with maternity breaks, yet the number and profile of the athletes that have done so in 2023 are a positive step for the sport.
With respect to what it meant for the sport and their fellow competitors in the wider picture, then, the comebacks of said athletes can only be conceived of as a success.
At the same time, though, the athletes in question are fierce competitors. As a former world champion on the hunt for more Olympic hardware, Zaferes is a prime example. In this article, then, we will assess her season from a sporting perspective.
In a slightly different approach to Jorgensen, Zaferes dove back in at the deep end.
She made her return at WTCS Abu Dhabi in March after being substituted in for Taylor Knibb. In her first international triathlon in over 18 months, Zaferes finished in a solid 37th place. She was generally a little off the pace but that made sense. Not only did Abu Dhabi come early in year, prompting rustiness among several big names, but Zaferes had not raced at all.
To expect an instant return to medal contention would have been somewhat far-fetched.
After Abu Dhabi, Zaferes dropped down a couple of levels as she hunted points towards her world ranking. Being substituted into WTCS races was not a sustainable long-term strategy and she needed to get onto the start lists by right.
Focusing on the few races closer to home, she started with the Americas Cup in Sarasota. In Florida, she was beaten to the gold medal by Amber Schlebusch. Her silver, though, represented the first medal of her comeback.
It would not be the last.
Zaferes took on two further Americas Cup race and it already became clear that her level had soared in a matter of weeks. Wins in St. Peters and Punta Cana followed, both of which came on the back of bold solo breakaways. Moreover, Zaferes beat Jorgensen in the former, gaining a marginal boost psychologically and with regards to the world rankings.
Her dominance in St. Peters and Punta Cana offered clear evidence that her swimming and cycling could be a weapon for the American team going forward. Her running, too, also looked in good shape.
When WTCS Cagliari rolled around, then, for her second stab at the Series, a different Zaferes stepped onto the start line.
In a big step forward, she finished 12th. While the result itself was very promising, it was the way that Zaferes took on the race that stood out. She raced very assertively throughout. She did not make the breakaway, although she lost the bulk of her time in the water on the first of the two swim laps, indicating a lingering (and understandable) lack of WTCS sharpness.
The key was that Zaferes was a constant presence at the front of the main pack. At the end of bike laps 2, 5 and 8 she led the breakaway. At the end of a further three laps, she was among the top-4 riders over the line in the chase. Zaferes’ face, then, was virtually ever-present at the front.
Furthermore, she logged some of the fastest lap times of the day on the bike. While the main pack did not catch the breakaway, Zaferes had a positive impact on the group. Moreover, her run in Cagliari showed a big improvement from Abu Dhabi.
If Cagliari had been a step forward, even better was around the corner.
At WTCS Montreal, she finished 5th with a vintage performance. Zaferes was only 14 seconds from a medal and on another day she might have even got there. With the sixth fastest swim, fourth fastest run and a strong bike in the middle, Zaferes was superb in Montreal.
Her performance also firmly placed her at the heart of the Olympic conversation. While the first selection races would come later in the year, Zaferes had ticked a notable box. Among the considerations to help discretionary selection to the American Olympic team are a top-8 WTCS finish. Other American women have satisfied the criteria but after Montreal Zaferes would not be playing catch-up to the same degree as before.
In between Cagliari and Montreal, Zaferes finished 13th at the Huatulco World Cup. Of greater significance was that she was part of the victorious US team at the Americas Mixed Team Relay Championships where she was the fastest woman of any leg.
With Montreal and her Americas relay performance, Zaferes had thus already logged two valuable points in her column towards possible discretionary Olympic selection.
Automatic qualification, though, remained the goal.
An 18th place at WTCS Hamburg followed and then Zaferes finished 12th at the Paris Test Event. In the end Taylor Knibb secured the first American Olympic slot in Paris, while Zaferes finished within a minute of her compatriot. She also finished 2 places behind another rival, Taylor Spivey.
Neither Spivey not Zaferes would meet the automatic selection requirement at their next rival at WTCS Pontevedra. Whereas they needed a podium finish, Zaferes finished 19th while Spivey took 16th. Yet another contender, Kirsten Kasper, finished 15th.
Even if she did not meet the automatic selection requirement in 2023, Zaferes nonetheless put herself firmly in the mix. Two slots remain on the Olympic team and there will be one final selection race in 2024. Zaferes will need to medal at said selection race (it will realistically be either WTCS Yokohama or WTCS Cagliari). Given her form this year, she cannot be discounted.
Spivey and Summer Rappaport each medalled at WTCS races in 2023 but Zaferes’ 5th place, though, makes her the next best finisher. Meanwhile, Kasper’s 8th place in Yokohama is only other top-8 finish by a non-qualified American woman.
When factoring in her maternity absence, it is highly impressive that Zaferes has managed to enter the conversation so quickly.
Her season continued after Pontevedra and showed another boost in level. At the Brasilia World Cup, Zaferes won the silver medal as she claimed her first world level podium of her comeback. A month later, she technically won the Vina del Mar World Cup but was disqualified.
Looking beyond the actual result, in pure performance terms Zaferes had a fantastic race. She forced another breakaway and then clocked the second quickest run of the day. A slow T2 nearly proved fatal but she recovered to cross the line first.
On the note of transitions, they have not always been Zaferes’ strong point in 2023, in a similar manner to Jorgensen. Vina del Mar was a clear example of that and if Zaferes is to play as big a part in the Mixed Team Relay in Paris as at the Tokyo Olympics she will need to ensure her transitions are flawless.
More pertinently, while Vina del Mar was controversial in and of itself, it will have far wider impacts for Zaferes and her comeback.
Crucially, Zaferes is now the seventh American woman in the world rankings. The two main beneficiaries to her disqualification were Gwen Jorgensen and Gina Sereno as they were promoted to the gold and silver medal, respectively. With regards to the world rankings, their gain has been even greater.
The Vina del Mar outcome ensured that both overtook Zaferes in the rankings. Jorgensen’s win moved her up 3 placed to 30th. Sereno climbed 1 place to take 33rd. Zaferes slipped back 2 places to 34th. Had her win stood, Zaferes would have locked in her status as the fifth American woman. The reality, though, is different.
Instead, Jorgensen’s win makes her the fifth-ranked American. America generally sends five women to WTCS races meaning that Jorgensen will be likeliest to start at the 2024 races.
Zaferes could be substituted in again like at WTCS Abu Dhabi and WTCS Pontevedra when Knibb withdrew. However, it puts her fate in the hands of others. Moreover, Sereno is now ahead of her on the wait list for substitutions.
With the final Olympic selection race being a WTCS event, Zaferes is on the outside looking in.
As a result, while her 2023 form hinted at her being able to meet the criteria of a podium finish, she will struggle to get onto the selection race start list. She may have to scramble for more Americas Cup races, for example, to boost her ranking, which is far from ideal.
Failing that, she may have to await a potential discretionary Olympic selection. Ahead of winning an individual bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Zaferes was selected on discretionary grounds (although she was the reigning WTCS champion). The question, now, may be if she will need the same method to work in her favour again if the rankings conundrum cannot be solved in time.
That, however, is for the future.
While Vina del Mar has put a blemish on things, to look back over Zaferes’ 2023 is to see an exceptional comeback. Wins at the Americas Cup and World Cup (sort of) level have showcased some of her best racing qualities while her WTCS performances have been consistent.
Having been a WTCS medal contender as recently as late 2021, she will likely get into full swing in 2024 as she hunts Olympic selection.
