Katie Zaferes (née Hursey) is an American professional triathlete from Hampstead, Maryland. She earned a silver and bronze medal for the United States in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic triathlon held in 2021. She is also the 2019 ITU World Triathlon Series women's champion. She has placed second overall in the 2018 ITU World Triathlon Series and third in the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Series. Zaferes won both the 2018 and 2019 Super League Triathlon Championship Series. She finished in 3rd position in the series in 2021. Education and early career Zaferes attended North Carroll High School in Hampstead, Maryland. She won state championship in 2005 & 2007, and was a captain and multi-year letterwinner in cross country and outdoor track & field. She also lettered in lacrosse, soccer and swimming. She was six-time Carroll County Player of the Year among many other awards. She was recruited to Syracuse University, where she was a member of the cross country and track and field teams from 2007 to 2012. She holds the school record in the outdoor 3,000m steeplechase (10:08.44) and indoor 5,000m run (16:40.95). Career Turning professional in 2013, she raced her first top-flight World Triathlon Series event on 19th April in San Diego finishing 30th, and then went on to gain her first ITU World Cup podium with Gold in Palamos on the 14th of July. In her debut year, Zaferes was awarded the USA Triathlon Elite Rookie of the year. The 2014 season yielded a number of podium results at World Cup level including her sole career disqualification due to an irregular transition at T2 in Aukland. She earned her first podium in the World Triathlon Series with a silver medal in Abu Dhabi on the 7th of March 2015, and following 6 podium finishes at World Triathlon Series (WTS) over the course of 2015 won her first WTS race in Hamburg on the 16th of July. Following this she had 10 podium finishes between her first WTS victory and her next, which came on the 8th March 2019 in Abu Dhabi. The 2019 season would go on to be her crowning achievement (to date) as she took wins in Bermuda, Yokohama and Montreal with a second place finish in Leeds, a 35th place finish in Hamburg following a crash, and a DNF at the Tokyo Olympic Qualification event which resulted in facial injuries. Despite this accident, some 15