Summer Rappaport Earns Brilliant Bronze in Montreal, Improves to No. 2 in Overall Series Rankings

MONTREAL – Summer Rappaport (Thorton, Colo.) returned to the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) podium for the first time in almost two years on Saturday by earning the bronze medal at the 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal.  

She led a total of four U.S. women who finished in the top ten, with all six on the roster to place within the top 25 in the field, the only nation to do so.  

With the third-place finish, Rappaport improved three positions to become No. 2 overall in the current 2023 WTCS Rankings, just 333 points behind fellow U.S. Elite National Team Member, Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.), who remains the overall Series leader after Montreal, the fourth stop in the circuit.  

Rappaport, whose last Series podium was in Hamburg in 2021, showcased a standout sprint-distance performance to earn the bronze. She positioned herself in prime medal contention after being fifth out of the water, succeeding a two-person breakaway on the bike alongside fellow USA teammate Taylor Knibb (Boulder, Colo.) to ultimately maintain her running speed to cross the line in 58 minutes and 19 seconds and take the bronze. She finished just 7 seconds behind France’s Leonie Periault (58:12) who claimed the silver and Great Britain’s Beth Potter (58:10) who earned the victory.  

“I am thrilled. It’s been a really difficult last couple of years, I have thought about quitting probably more days than not. And while I think everyone likes seeing people who are consistent, in sport it’s more about the struggles and standing back up and keep fighting. That’s why most athletes do it and it’s the experience of most athletes, so I am not going to quit on myself because of hard times. I am very happy I didn’t quit and hopefully I will be back here more now,” Rappaport said of her podium performance. 

She added on the impressive bike breakaway, “I was pretty proud of myself. I switched training groups, I am training with Ian O’Brien, Taylor [Knibb] is one of my trainee partners and I have been working really hard in training to be able to do that. So, it was really good to be able to put it together. I was kind of surprised when I looked back and saw that it was the two of us, but I thought ‘okay, I know what I have got to do.” 

Katie Zaferes (Cary, N.C.) finished fifth with a time of 58:33, which gives her a WTCS season-best result since coming back from maternity leave. She jumped 11 positions in the overall rankings and is now 18^th in the Series. Knibb followed three seconds after to cross the line in 58:36 and finished 6th overall. Knibb also had a standout performance on the day after she was forced to take a 10-second penalty in the first transition due to missing the athlete briefing. She still maintained to push to the top on the bike leg and initiate the breakaway with Rappaport that gave the two women a 13-second lead going into T2.  

Spivey was the fourth U.S. women to finish in the top-10, with her ninth-place result (58:51). After Montreal, Spivey maintains her position as the No. 1 overall female in the 2023 WTCS Rankings.  

Finishing off the women’s U.S. team, Kirsten Kasper (North Andover, Mass.) had a time of 59:10 to earn 18^th place, while Erika Ackerlund (Helena, Mont.) placed 21^st with a time of 59:24.  

In the men’s race, Chase McQueen (Columbus, Ind.) had the best result of the day, earning 34^th with a time of 56:16. Seth Rider (Germantown, Tenn.) followed closely behind in 44^th, crossing the line in 57:44. 

Australia’s Matthew Hauser seized the men’s victory, earning the gold in 53:47. Brazil’s Manoel Messias claimed the silver (53:58) and Jelle Geens of Belgium took the bronze (54:02. 

The Montreal action continues tomorrow, Sunday, June 25 as Team USA will compete in the Mixed Relay event. The race will be streamed live on TriathlonLIVE.tv, with a start time of 10:00 a.m. ET/7:00 a.m. PT.  

2023 World Triathlon Championship Series  
The World Triathlon Championship Series is an annual series of triathlon events held in cities around the world where athletes compete head-to-head for points. The rankings are used to determine the best-performing triathletes of the season, and ultimately, the world champions.  
 
The 2023 season also includes the 2023 World Triathlon Test Event Paris, the first Paris 2024 Olympic Games auto-qualification opportunity for U.S. elite triathletes. The races will take place on the same venue that will host the triathlon and paratriathlon competitions during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  
 
Upcoming Events  
• 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal – June 24-25  
• 2023 World Triathlon Sprint & Relay Championships Hamburg – July 13-16  
• 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series Sunderland – July 29-30  
• *2023 World Triathlon Test Event Paris – Aug. 17-18* 
• 2023 World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series Paris – Aug. 20  
• *2023 World Triathlon Championship Finals Pontevedra – Sept. 22-24* 
 
*Denotes Paris 2024 Olympics auto-qualifying event  
 
2023 World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal  
750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run 

Elite Women’s Podium – Complete Results 
1. Beth Potter (GBR), 58:10 
2. Leonie Periault (FRA), 58:12 
3. Summer Rappaport (Thornton, Colo.), 58:19 

U.S. Women’s Finishers 
3. Summer Rappaport (Thornton, Colo.), 58:19 
5. Katie Zaferes (Cary, N.C.), 58:33 
6. Taylor Knibb (Boulder, Colo.), 58:36 
9. Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.), 58:51 
18. Kirsten Kasper (North Andover, Mass.), 59:10 
21. Erika Ackerlund (Helena, Mont.), 59:24 

Elite Men’s Podium – Complete Results 
1. Matthew Hauser (AUS), 53:47 
2. Manoel Messias (BRA), 53:58 
3. Jelle Geens (BEL), 54:02 

U.S. Men’s Finishers 
34. Chase McQueen (Columbus, Ind.), 56:16 
44. Seth Rider (Germantown, Tenn.), 57:44