Olympic athlete Taylor Knibb stormed to the inaugural T100 Triathlon World Title – but not after she suffered an unfortunate mid-race incident.
Knibb has established herself as one of the world’s best triathletes having won gold in the women’s Ironman 70.3 World Championship in 2022 and 2023.
The 26-year-old also won silver in the mixed relay at the Tokyo Olympics and claimed another silver in Paris this summer after a thrilling finish which saw Team GB narrowly forced to settle for bronze.
The American has continued her impressive form into the latter half of the year, winning four consecutive races – including last weekend’s Grand Final in Dubai – to claim the first-ever T100 title and the $210,000 cash bonus.
However, the brutal weather conditions in the United Arab Emirates evidently took their toll on Knibb after she had pulled clear of her competition with little over two kilometres to go.
With the cameras approaching to film her final moments, the American revealed that she had soiled herself midway through the race.
‘I just s*** myself. So can you not get my a**?’ she asked the camera operator who quickly obliged before adjusting the shot.
Despite that, Knibb remained focused and stormed to the line in first place, finishing the race almost two minutes ahead of silver medallist Julie Derron.
Speaking afterwards she revealed that the race – a combination of a 2 km open-water swim, an 80 km bike ride, and an 18 km run – had proved difficult from start to finish.
‘I woke up and messaged my coach that I just feel rough, and I’m like, “Oh, this is going to be a bad day,’ Knibb admitted.
‘So, I was kind of shocked! It only came together in the last 3km when everyone else fell apart, but it was very step-by-step. That was brutal out there.’
Knibb only needed to finish second on the day to guarantee her world title but remained on task despite the pre-race nerves from those around her.
‘I think my dad was more nervous today than me… I was like, “Oh wow, you’re really nervous, like it’s kind of spreading”,’ she added.
‘But I have a fantastic team of individuals and then I have a lot of sponsors and so it’s just a huge team effort and I’m very grateful for everyone who supports me and believes in me.’
Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle, meanwhile, who finished third in Dubai and second in the end-of-season standings, lauded the ability of Knibb after her stunning triumph.
‘Taylor has just been dominating and when you’re racing an athlete like that, it is sometimes really difficult to truly believe that you can beat them,’ she said.
‘But I had this little fire in my belly… I have no reason to believe that I can beat her, but I’m on the start line and that means I have got a chance, so I just had to believe that.
‘I didn’t beat her but feel like I was a step closer today and did everything I could to try and get there.’
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