American Katie Zaferes, who is returning to triathlon this season after the birth of her first child, has made steady progress in her first few races back on the circuit, but struggled in the heat of Mexico at the Huatulco World Cup this weekend.

The former world champion and double Olympic medalist took to Instagram to dissect a disappointing result, sharing that whilst a tough day out isn’t what she wanted as she seeks Olympic qualification, there was a lot to learn from the World Cup on the Pacific coast.

“Reflection and grace fuels future success”

American Zaferes, who has won two continental cup races and finished on the podium at another this season, came into the race in Huatulco as one of the pre-race favourites, but ended up finishing in 13th, behind fellow Americans Gwen Jorgensen and Gina Sereno.

Reflecting on the race, Zaferes shared that the heat really made the race a struggle, with the delayed start to the event also causing some unnecessary additional mental stress in the lead up to the gun going off.

“13th place for me yesterday in Huatulco. Honestly I just didn’t handle some things very well. I got caught up in the heat, the race time, the unknowns-before the race even began.

“I get confidence in my preparation, which is usually a strength of mine, but yesterday it was a weakness as I didn’t feel prepared. It stinks to be disappointed, but disappointment with reflection and grace fuels future success.”

Zaferes added that when the going got tough, she kept on pushing, something that she is very proud of. Having finished 12th less than a month ago at WTCS Cagliari, the World #51 knows better than anyone that her fitness is right where it needs to be.

“What I am proud of is that in a race where I felt like I could keep going backwards for an eternity I kept fighting to stay put, move forward and keep checking off some process goals on route. It was a learning race for sure, as I suppose every race is.”