True champions understand that winning takes sacrifice. In the case of triathlete Taylor Knibb, that meant putting her pride aside for the ultimate prize.
Knibb, 26, competed in the inaugural T100 Triathlon World Championship Final in Dubai this week where she clinched the world title despite facing an unexpected and deeply human moment.
During the running portion of the race, the American Olympian was caught requesting that she not be filmed from behind. The reason? She had just soiled herself.
“I just sh*t myself. Could you not get my ass?” she politely asked the camera operator.
“Thank you… Sorry,” she added.
Olympic triathlete Taylor Knibb has been caught on camera during a live TV race asking cameras not to film her backside as she had ‘just s**t myself’’.’
Knibb is a two-time Olympic silver medallist at Tokyo and Paris in the mixed relay event. pic.twitter.com/xbTUx6pEJu
— The Project (@theprojecttv) November 19, 2024
Her oddly calm demeanour could be explained by the fact that bodily functions are surprisingly common in triathlons. For example, Tyler Mislawchuk threw up 10 times during his race in the Seine River at the Paris Olympics this past summer.
But despite Knibb’s unexpected inconvenience, the two-time Olympic silver medalist persevered, finishing the gruelling race with an impressive 3:29:17 time.
She was all smiles on her way to becoming a world champion, handing out high fives to spectators.
However, the camera operator at the finish line didn’t seem to get the memo, capturing a close-up of the noticeable stains on the backside of her swimsuit, despite her earlier request.
🏆🏆🏆🏆
A perfect four from four on the T100 Triathlon World Tour. Taylor Knibb is the T100 World Champion! pic.twitter.com/0i6LxwjvUV
— T100 Triathlon World Tour (@t100triathlon) November 16, 2024
While she hasn’t spoken about the accident directly, Knibb subtly alluded to it in her post-victory interview.
“Do you feel that you conquered this race mentally?” a reporter asked.
“Well, I think it was more physically,” she said. “The mental is almost the easier part. You just have to deal with your body.”
While it’s certainly embarrassing, Knibb looks like she’ll ultimately get the last laugh, concluding her perfect T100 season with four wins and a hefty $310,000 prize.
As the saying goes, sometimes sh*t happens — but it’s how you handle it that matters.