Kate Waugh (born 13 February 1999) is a British triathlete competing internationally for Great Britain. She became the 2022 U23 World Champion, having won the 2022 World Triathlon Championship Series event in Abu Dhabi.[4]
In 2023 Waugh built on her success of the previous year with a series of top ten performances, notably in the World Triathlon Championship Series in Yokohama, where she was fifth behind British teammate Sophie Coldwell, before coming second to Beth Potter in the World Triathlon Championship Finals in Pontevedra.[5] Waugh also finished seventh in the Olympic Games Test Event for the 2024 Summer OlympicsinParis, picking up a silver medal in the Mixed Team Relay.[6]
Waugh also competes in Super League Triathlon. She has competed in the Super League Triathlon Arena Games, both in London in 2021 through 2023, and Rotterdam in 2021, as well as the Championship series, where she secured her first win in Toulouse, France in 2023.[7]
Waugh was born in Gateshead, and attended the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne.[8] She took part in her first triathlon "at the age of 8 or 9" after having played sports such as athletics, swimming, field hockey and gymnastics.[9] Waugh has cited the London 2012 Olympics, and the performances of Jessica Ennis-Hill, as inspiration for her goals of competing at the Olympic Games.[10]
Waugh credits her parents for encouraging her to maintain balance between her school work and triathlon events, which saw her win the 2017 European Junior Championships in Kitzbuhel on a Friday having flown into Austria the previous day after completing an A-level exam the previous day.[11][12]
Waugh studies Psychology at the University of Leeds, although her studies are currently on hold having moved to Monte Gordo, Portugal to focus on her athletic career.[13][1]
Waugh's first major success came at the age of 15 at the Penza U23 Youth and European Championships Women Relay alongside Olivia Mathias and Sophie Alden.[14] She won the British Triathlon Female Elite Junior Triathlete of the Year award the following year, before coming 2nd and 3rd in the World Triathlon Junior Women's Grand Final in 2017 and 2018 respectively.[1][15][16]
In 2018, Waugh was added the British Triathlon Olympic Podium Potential team.[17]
A step up to the U23 category in 2019 saw further success, with Waugh coming 3rd in her first Olympic distance ITU World Cup race in Nur-Sultan before further success at the Grand Final in Lausanne, where she was 4th in the U23 Women and 2nd in the Mixed U23 relay alongside Alex Yee, Ben Dijkstra and Olivia Mathias.[18][19][20]
After a year affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which Waugh described as especially difficult due to missing out on " “the competitive environment, the buzz around competition and racing, training with my friends & training groups", Waugh returned in 2021 to secure back-to-back second-place World Triathlon Cup medals behind then training partner Beth Potter in Haeundae and Tongyeong.[21]
2022 saw Waugh's most successful year to date, with a third World Triathlon Cup medal courtesy of a bronze in Bergen, before ending her U23 career by winning the World Championship Finals in Abu Dhabi.[22]
In 2023, Waugh stepped up again to secure three top tens in elite events, before coming second in the World Championship finals to teammate Beth Potter,[23] ending up a career-high ninth in the World Rankings.[24]
In June 2024, Waugh was selected to represent Great Britain at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.[25]
Waugh has been a stalwart of the Super League Triathlon series, having first taken part in the 2018 events in Jersey, where she wore the white jersey of a promising young athlete. Waugh has competed in every edition of the London Arena Games since 2021, and secured her first victory in the Championships format in Toulouse in 2023, resulting in her leading the series after a 5th place in Canary Warf the previous week.[2][26]
Waugh splits her time between Monte Gordo, Portugal, and Font Romeu, near Odeillo in France with her partner, the British triathlete Max Stapley.[13][28]
She is sponsored by Specialized[29] having previously ridden Swift and Canyon Bicycles, as well as Orca wetsuits, nutritional product BOA Blast, and Fusion Sportswear.[30][9] In October 2023 she announced a partnership with Swiss athletic company On.[31] Waugh has previously modeled for Adidas.[32]
