originally appeared on
Just three months after her father passed away, Team USA鈥檚 Katie Zaferes delivered a medal-winning performance in the women鈥檚 triathlon at the Tokyo Olympics.
As the rain poured down in Tokyo, Zaferes said she saw a rainbow in the sky and thought 鈥淗ey, Dad.鈥�
鈥淗e would have been crying. He would have been so proud and happy,鈥� Zaferes said following the women鈥檚 triathlon.
On a rainy day at the , three months after her father passed away, Katie Zaferes looked up and saw a sign. 🌈
“I saw a rainbow during the race, and thought, 鈥楬ey, Dad!鈥�”
On her bronze medal: “He would have been crying. He would have been so proud and happy.” ❤️
鈥� USA Triathlon (@usatriathlon)
鈥淗e鈥檚 with me in a different way and we鈥檙e going to be doing this together, as I ask for his guidance, strength and joy for the road ahead,鈥� Zaferes said, per the official Team USA page.
鈥淏ecause as my dad reminded me before every race, all I needed to do was 鈥榬ace hard, but most of all have fun.鈥� So that is what I鈥檓 going to do.鈥�
And that鈥檚 exactly what she did as she crossed the finish line amid the rainy conditions at Odaiba Marine Park where she claimed a bronze medal.
Zaferes, a world champion at the World Triathlon Series in 2019, has overcome many challenges leading up to the Olympics. After failing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2019 due to a crash, Zaferes was picked for the final spot by a selection committee and it鈥檚 clear they made the right choice.
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. to open the story in your web browser.
