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U.S. Elite Triathletes, Elite Paratriathletes to Race at World Triathlon Series Yokohama

By USA Triathlon | May 11, 2023, 2:03 p.m. (ET)

taylor spivey exits the water

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Elite triathlon racing resumes this weekend as 26 U.S. elite triathletes and elite paratriathletes will compete in Yokohama, Japan, at the 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series Yokohama and 2023 World Triathlon Para Series Yokohama. 

The World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) race in Yokohama is the second of the 2023 season, which includes seven events, plus the Paris 2024 Test Event in August, all leading to the World Triathlon Championship Finals in September in Pontevedra, Spain. 

For elite paratriathletes, the World Triathlon Para Series (WTPS) race in Yokohama is the second of four stops on the Para Series before September’s Championship Finals in Pontevedra. 

This season marks an important year of competition as athletes will be vying for crucial Olympic and Paralympic qualifying points ahead of next year’s Paris 2024 Olympic & Paralympic Games. 

HOW TO WATCH 

Fans can stream World Triathlon events live or on-demand on TriathlonLIVE.tv. 

Coverage of the elite para races begins at 5:50 p.m. ET/2:50 p.m. PT, Friday, May 12 (6:50 a.m. Saturday, May 13 Yokohama local time). 

The elite women race coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, Friday, May 12 (10 a.m. Saturday, May 13 Yokohama local time). 
 
The elite men follow at midnight ET/9 p.m. PT, Friday, May 12 (1 p.m. Saturday, May 13 Yokohama local time).  

WHO IS RACING 

WTCS Yokohama
Five U.S. elite triathletes make up the women’s roster in Yokohama, led by Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, Calif.), ranked No. 3 in the 2023 World Triathlon Championship Rankings. 

A consistent performer, Spivey earned the bronze in the 2023 WTCS season-opener in March in Abu Dhabi. Last year, Spivey placed in the top 10 in every WTCS appearance, her consistency leading her to fourth in the 2022 WTCS rankings. 

Summer Rappaport (Thornton, Colo.) comes to Yokohama No. 4 in the 2023 World Triathlon Championship Rankings, following her fourth-place finish in Abu Dhabi. A Tokyo 2020 Olympian, Rappaport is a six-time WTCS medalist. 

Taylor Knibb (Boulder, Colo.) makes her 2023 season debut in Yokohama, where she earned gold in 2021 to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games. Knibb finished third in the 2022 WTCS rankings. 

U.S. National Team veteran Kirsten Kasper (North Andover, Mass.) and U.S. National Team newcomer, Erika Ackerlund (Helena, Mont.) round out the elite U.S. squad racing in Yokohama. Kasper began her 2023 season in Abu Dhabi and placed 12th in the 2022 WTCS rankings. Ackerlund opened her second year representing the U.S. National Team in March with a seventh-place finish at the 2023 World Triathlon Cup New Plymouth.  

Four U.S. elite men will race in Yokohama, led by Matt McElroy (Huntington Beach, Calif.), who opened his 2023 season with an eighth-place showing in Abu Dhabi. 

Morgan Pearson (New Vernon, N.J.) makes his 2023 season debut, returning to Yokohama where his bronze in 2021 qualified him for the Tokyo Olympic Games. 
 
Seth Rider (Germantown, Tenn.) earned a sixth-place finish at the 2023 World Triathlon Cup New Plymouth, while Chase McQueen (Columbus, Ind.) comes to Yokohama with a win on his resume from the 2023 Arena Games Triathlon Series Montreal and a bronze at the 2023 Americas Triathlon Cup La Paz. 

WTPS Yokohama 
Tokyo 2020 Paralympians Kendall Gretsch (Downers Grove, Ill., PTWC), Allysa Seely (Glendale, Ariz., PTS2), Hailey Danz (Colorado Springs, Colo., PTS2), Melissa Stockwell (Colorado Springs, Colo., PTS2), Eric McElvenny (Pittsburgh, Pa., PTS4) and Kelly Elmlinger (San Antonio, Texas, PTS4) lead the U.S. elite paratriathlon squad competing in Yokohama. 

Other U.S. elite paratriathletes competing include fellow U.S. Elite Paratriathlon National Team members Mohamed Lahna (Elk Grove, Calif., PTS2) and Carson Clough (Charlotte, N.C., PTS4) and Project Podium’s Owen Cravens (Chicago, Ill., PTVI), who is guided by pro triathlete Ben Hoffman. This winter, Cravens joined the elite development squad based in Tempe, Arizona, joining three-time Paralympian Chris Hammer as the squad’s first two paratriathletes. 

The rest of the U.S. elite paratriathlon team competing in Yokohama include: 

• Howie Sanborn (Denver, Colo., PTWC) 
• Erik Hultquist (Scottsdale, Ariz., PTS4)
• Jesus Moreno (Taylor, Mich., PTS5) 
• Emelia Perry (Philadelphia, Pa., PTWC) 
• Kelly Worrell (Cherry Hill, N.J., PTS4) 
• Emma Meyers (Pensacola, Fla., PTS4) 
• Deborah Chucoski (Corning, N.Y., PTVI), guided Ericka Hachmeister (Corning, N.Y.)
• McClain Hermes (Dacula, Ga., PTVI), guided by Kirsten Sass (McKenzie, Tenn.) 

USA Triathlon

USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon, paratriathlon, and indoor and virtual multisport events in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,000 races and connects with more than 400,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work at the grassroots level with athletes, coaches, and race directors — as well as the USA Triathlon Foundation — USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Triathlon Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of World Triathlon and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).