Taylor Knibb qualifies for Paris Olympics in triathlon, road cycling
Taylor Knibb has qualified for the U.S. Olympic team for Paris in both triathlon and road cycling.
Knibb won the U.S. cycling road time trial championship on Wednesday in Charleston, West Virginia, which means she could compete in up to four events at the Paris Games: time trial on July 27, individual triathlon on July 31, road race on Aug. 4 and mixed-gender triathlon relay on Aug. 5.
Knibb has not announced if she hopes to contest all four events. The U.S. is expected to qualify three women for the Olympic triathlon, and two of them can also take part in the mixed relay.
Knibb previously qualified for her second Olympics in triathlon by placing fifth in the Olympic test event in Paris last August. At the Tokyo Games, she placed 16th at age 23 as the youngest U.S. Olympic triathlete since the sport was added for the 2000 Sydney Games, plus added silver in the mixed relay.
Knibb won world junior triathlon titles in 2016 and 2017 and the 2018 Under-23 World Championships. She also ran and swam for Cornell, graduating in 2020, and won the Half Ironman world title in 2022 and 2023. A half Ironman is 70.3 miles. An Olympic triathlon is nearly 32 miles.
Since Tokyo, Knibb has placed sixth or better in all of her top-level international triathlon starts, including placing second in a World Series event last Saturday.
She has never competed in a significant international road cycling race, according to ProCyclingStats.com.
Knibb can join a long list of Americans to compete in two sports at one Olympics. Since road cycling is one of the disciplines within triathlon, they are not considered distinctly different sports.
Most Americans who previously competed in two different sports at one Olympics also did so in similar sports, such as biathlon and cross-country skiing.
Rob Stull was the last American to compete in one Summer Olympics in two sports that, like triathlon and road cycling, have different international governing bodies — fencing and modern pentathlon in 1988, according to the OlyMADMen.
Chloé Dygert, who won last year's world title in the time trial to clinch an Olympic spot, competed in both road cycling and track cycling at the Tokyo Games and could do so again in Paris.
Dygert did not contest Wednesday's time trial, which Knibb won by 11 seconds over Kristen Faulkner.
Other American triathletes competed in different sports in different Games. Sheila Taormina won swimming relay gold in 1996, placed sixth in the first Olympic triathlon in 2000 and 18th in modern pentathlon in 2008.
Brandon McNulty won the men's time trial on Wednesday to qualify for his second Olympics. He had the best U.S. men's result in Tokyo in any cycling event — sixth in the road race.
U.S. athletes qualified for 2024 Paris Olympics
The 2024 U.S. Olympic team roster of athletes updated as they qualify.
