Another reason to love the amazing Katie Zaferes, the latest in a long line, and it came in the aftermath of those incredible Olympic Games triathlon races at Paris 2024.
On Wednesday in the French capital we got not one but two epic showdowns for all the marbles after the men’s individual race had been postponed from Tuesday.
The end result was five hours of enthralling entertainment with the eyes of a global TV audience, as well as the spectators on hand in Paris, being firmly focused on swim/bike/run.
Cassandre Beaugrand and Alex Yee eventually claimed golden glory, but their amazing stories were just two of 110 amazing stories as 55 athletes lined up in each race. And each of those 110 stories was unique, a fact the 35-year-old Zaferes highlighted in a quite beautiful Instagram post.
In it she referenced the hardships, the trials and the challenges all of these athletes overcame just to make it to the start line in Paris. Remember she herself agonisingly missed out on a spot on Team USA after a comeback to the brink of qualification following the birth of her first child. She had won individual bronze and Mixed Relay silver in Tokyo in 2021.
Katie Zaferes on Paris 2024
She wrote: “I kind of hate that the place on a results list is just a number. It doesn’t show the intricacies within the race and each moment of struggle overcome. It doesn’t show what it took for each and every athlete to get there. It doesn’t reveal all the hard work that has been put into each day of this journey that has been shaped over their lifetimes. It doesn’t show all the sacrifices that have been made in their endeavor. It doesn’t show the strife that each person has dealt with mentally, emotionally and physically. It doesn’t show the injuries, the doubts, the days that were a struggle. It doesn’t show how many times they’ve picked themselves up and decisively chose that this is what they want again and again.
“I look at the results of this Olympics and I’m just so full of emotion wanting to hug each person for all the reasons, whether it was a day they dreamed of or a day they fought through. I watch so inspired by each of their journeys and proud of everything that result took out of them. I hope they each feel this deep pride too. Proud of their fight to the start line and fight to the finish.”
US star classy as ever
This is not the first time Zaferes left us misty-eyed with the sheer class, humility and empathy she displays whatever the situation – her response had been exactly the same upon finding out she had not made the team for Paris.
Despite the furore on Tuesday following that much-criticised postponement, this has ultimately been a very special week for the sport of triathlon. Thank you Katie for giving us one more reason to sit back and smile.
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