In a late change to the women’s start list for WTCS Cagliari, Taylor Knibb has withdrawn from the event.
Knibb won the bronze medal at WTCS Yokohama and looked in fantastic shape in the swim and on the bike. In spite of an ongoing foot injury that required surgery at the start of the year, she was also able to run to a medal too.
There has yet been any confirmation as to why Knibb has pulled out. One possibility was that racing two Olympic distance races over a fortnight would have been too much given her recent injury. Hopefully her exertions in Yokohama did not aggravate her foot in any way and she will be back racing soon.
The other possible reason behind Knibb’s withdrawal stems from who has replaced her.
Former world champions Katie Zaferes and Gwen Jorgensen will both be starting in Cagliari.
There is a chance that Knibb always planned to switch out, just as she did for Zaferes at WTCS Abu Dhabi earlier in the year. In doing so her compatriots could then have been substituted into the field.
For Zaferes, Cagliari will represent a second WTCS start of the season after Abu Dhabi. With recent wins at Americas Cups in St. Peters and Punta Cana, she has been in flying form. Her swim and bike legs have looked especially strong as she took on both fields alone to win gold. With the current high levels of swimming in the women’s WTCS, she should be well-positioned to have a good race.
Meanwhile, Jorgensen will be making her first WTCS appearance since 2016. Technically, she still has an active WTCS medal streak. Between 2014 and her retirement in 2016, she won a ridiculous 18 straight medals. It would be a little outlandish to presume she will medal in her first race back in the Series although nothing is impossible.
Jorgensen’s running has been in great shape since making her comeback and she logged fast splits at each of her races. Her most recent outing saw her take a silver medal behind Zaferes in St. Peters in April.
Having made the effort to travel all the way to Yokohama in search of a possible starting slot only to come away with nothing, Jorgensen’s efforts have paid off this time. Like Zaferes, she will now have a big opportunity to accrue points towards her world rankings and build towards a potential spot on the 2024 US Olympic Team.
