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Katie Zaferes broke down in tears at the finish line. Ranked fourth in the world at the time, Zaferes had just finished the triathlon at the 2016 Rio Olympics in 18th place, well out of reach of the medal she hoped to secure.

She had only done triathlons competitively for five years and didn’t realize all of the preparation that’s necessary for the Olympics. The bike portion, Zaferes’ weakest discipline of the three sports that make up the triathlon, was the object of her thoughts. Looking at the tall hill she would have to bike down made her nervous, and she realized that she may not be as ready as she thought.

Since then, the Syracuse graduate has used her disappointing performance in 2016 as motivation. She focused on psychological training, making sure she can overcome obstacles like the frightening hill in 2016. Now ranked the No. 1 triathlete in the world, Zaferes has her sights on the upcoming 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.

“(Rio was) not my most proud moment, but it was also something that changed the trajectory of my career,” Zaferes said.

Two decades and 23 ITU World Triathlon Series medals earlier, Zaferes (then Hursey) began running as a sophomore in high school to stay in shape for soccer. In her first spring season for track, Zaferes won Maryland state titles in the 1600-meter and the 3200-meter. Zaferes was also part of her local swim team but had never considered a triathlon until her father, Bill, suggested they do one together in the summer after her senior year of high school.

The swim portion was in a pool, and Zaferes had to borrow a bike — and run it up hills when she couldn’t switch gears — but Zaferes and Bill loved their first triathlon together.

The next fall, Zaferes began running for Syracuse’s cross country and track teams, quickly impressing coaches and earning a top-five spot on the cross country team as a freshman. Zaferes broke SU’s school record in the indoor 5,000-meter and reached multiple NCAA Regional Championships for both cross country and track, but it wasn’t until her senior year where she found her specialty: the steeplechase.

Zaferes surprised the coaching staff with how quickly she picked up the discipline, said head coach Brien Bell, who was an assistant while Zaferes was in college.

She set the school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, reaching the NCAA Championships in both her senior and redshirt senior seasons. At the 2011 NCAA Championships, Zaferes finished 14th and earned second-team All-America honors.

“It took going to Syracuse to really understand what being a professional looks like,” Zaferes said.

As a collegiate runner with a background in swimming, Zaferes had the tools to be a triathlete, but she only had minor experience in the sport due to her commitments at Syracuse. But her talent didn’t go unnoticed. Barb Lindquist, a former triathlete Olympian and founder of the USA Triathlon Collegiate Recruitment Program, invited her to a camp with several other prospective triathletes in the summer between her senior and redshirt senior seasons.

“She had that athletic build, and that transferred to the bike, where I could see that that piece of the three-piece puzzle would be able to come along rather quickly,” Lindquist said.

After graduating from Syracuse, Zaferes returned to USA Triathlon — this time as part of a six-month residency program at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Since beginning her career as a pro in 2013, Zaferes has steadily improved each year. She placed fifth overall in the 2015 International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series rankings. She placed fourth in 2016, third in 2017 and second in 2018.

“I got in pretty far off of being skilled and talented to begin with. If I wanted to go further, I was going to have to do more,” Zaferes said.

Zaferes was named the ITU world champion after winning five of the eight races in the series. Courtesy of Katie Zaferes

Zaferes began working with U.S. Olympic team sports psychologist Karen Cogan at least once a month after Rio. She began seeing a nutritionist. She began journaling. And, thanks to work with strength coaches and Cogan, she has many more “strategies in (the) toolbox” to motivate herself when she’s not as confident.

Coming into the 2019 Tokyo ITU World Triathlon Olympic Qualification Event — the first event to secure automatic qualification for the Olympics — Zaferes held the world No. 1 ranking. She finished the swim and was in second place when she mounted her bike for the second section of the race.

But she never saw the barrier.

While looking over her shoulder for competitors, Zaferes crashed into a barrier, eliminating her from the race. She sustained a broken nose, a busted lip and a bruised leg, and she couldn’t raise her arm above her head. The automatic qualifying spot went to her teammate, Summer Rappaport.

Twenty-three stitches and 16 days later, Zaferes was set to compete in the grand final for the 2019 ITU World Triathlon series. She had won four of the first seven races in the series and only needed to finish in 12th place to claim the World Championship, but the course was extremely technical, contained many downhills and was fraught with barriers. Nevertheless, she finished first to claim her first world title.

This time, Zaferes had the confidence to outsprint world No. 2 Jessica Learmonth at the finish and claim her fifth gold medal of the year, she said.

“My mind wasn’t stuck on crashing, and my mind wasn’t stuck on what I couldn’t do or that I might be uncomfortable doing the course,” Zaferes said.

There are still two spots left for Team USA in Tokyo this summer. Still No. 1 in the world, Zaferes intends to be one of them.

Published on April 7, 2021 at 11:55 pm

Contact Connor: cpignate@syr.edu