ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell women's track & field, cross country, and swimming & diving alumna Taylor Knibb '20 has her sights set on qualifying for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic games when she competes at the World Triathlon Championship Series event on Friday, May 14 at 9:16 p.m. ET in Yokohama, Japan. This event marks the second and final auto-selection event for the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team.

The competition to punch a ticket to Tokyo in the triathlon will be fierce, with only one automatic qualifying spot remaining for the U.S. women. In total, a maximum of three U.S. women will represent team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, but only two athletes per gender can automatically qualify. The likelihood of the U.S. women earning three qualifying spots under the World Triathlon (formerly the ITU) qualification system is high, but the third and final women's qualifier would be left up to the decision of the USA Triathlon Games Athlete Selection Committee.  

This means that securing the second-and-final automatic qualifying spot this weekend is Knibb's best pathway to Tokyo. In the first Tokyo ITU World Olympic Qualification Event at Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo, Japan on August 14, 2019, Knibb held her own, placing 16th overall among 54 competitors. She was the fourth American to cross the finish line behind Summer Rappaport (5th), Taylor Spivey (8th), and Kirsten Kasper (14th).

Rappaport's fifth place finish gave her the first automatic qualifying spot for the Tokyo Olympic games. Given this, the stage is set for Saturday for Knibb to vie for the final automatic qualifying spot. The first US athlete finishing on the podium in Yokohama will earn that title.

Knibb's list of accomplishments in the triathlon world already features several impressive feats, including being named the 2018 ITU Under-23 World Champion and the back-to-back ITU Junior World Champion in 2016 and 2017. She is one of only three women in World Triathlon history to have won individual world titles at both the Junior and U-23 levels. Knibb has transitioned well as she's advanced through the ranks, earning a silver medal at the 2018 ITU Triathlon World Cup Lausanne and posting a pair of top-five finishes at ITU World Triathlon events in Abu Dhabi (4th) and Montreal (5th) in 2019.

For fans who wish to tune into Knibb's race on Friday, coverage will be available at TriathlonLIVE.tv or FloTrack (subscriptions needed).

Competitors

Tamara Gorman
Kirsten Kasper
Taylor Knibb
Summer Rappaport (already qualified)
Taylor Spivey
Renee Tomlin
Katie Zaferes