Slowtwitch.com
'); }
else { document.write('
Three and a half years after her first and only WTS podium, 23-year-old Taylor Knibb mustered a surprise knockout punch to take the overall win at WTS Yokohama and earned the second Olympic slot for U.S. women.
Knibb and Maya Kingma of the Netherlands combined to make a smashing bike breakaway that gave the duo a 75 seconds lead on the field at T2. Kingma led Knibb by a few seconds beginning the run, then Knibb took charge to lead Kingma by 35 seconds at the 5k mark. While Summer Rappaport, who won the first U.S. Women’s Olympic slot in 2019, ran hard to a race-best 33:24 split that brought her past Kingma for the silver. Knibb held on for the win with a 35:09 split that brought her to the line in 1:54:27 with a 30 seconds margin over Rappaport and 38 seconds on third place finisher Kingma.