Taylor Knibb locks up November’s PTO Athlete of the Month after Dubai T100 win
Finishing the T100 series undefeated to take home the world title was more than enough to earn Knibb the nod in November
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PTO
After a commanding win at the T100 World Championship Final in Dubai, it really isn’t much of a surprise that American Taylor Knibb was voted PTO Athlete of the Month for November. The win was her fourth of the year in the series, making her undefeated in T100 races in 2024 and earning her the first-ever T100 World Championship title.
A well-deserved award
Knibb beat out three other phenomenal competitors for the Athlete of the Month honours in November: Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown was up for the award after smashing her first half-Ironman with a win at 70.3 Bahrain; Belgian Marten Van Riel made the shortlist of nominees after becoming the men’s T100 world champion and putting on a great show in his Ironman debut in Cozumel; and, finally, all-time great Alistair Brownlee was considered for the title after wrapping up his career with a podium finish at the Dubai T100.Â
Taylor-Brown, Van Riel, and Brownlee all deserved to be recognized for their remarkable performances, but Knibb has simply been too good all year and proved why she is the best middle-distance racer in the world right now with her win in Dubai. She said herself that her victory at the T100 finale surprised her.
“I wouldn’t have picked me to win,” she said in a post-race interview in Dubai. She explained that she woke up on race day feeling “rough,” and she truly didn’t expect to contend for the title. “I’m shocked by that [win].” Of course, Knibb is a gritty, tough champion, and she put that on full display in a hard-fought victory.Â
One race to go
Knibb has one more race before the end of the year, and if she can win it, she will elevate her season from great to amazing. She will be in Taupo, New Zealand, for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, an event in which she is the two-time defending champ.
So far in 2024, Knibb has won an Olympic silver medal (she was a member of the American mixed relay team in Paris), 70.3 Oceanside, and four highly competitive T100 races, and she is first in the PTO rankings. She will be the woman to beat in Taupo, and just as it wasn’t a surprise to see her named Athlete of the Month in November, it shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone is she repeats as the winner next month.