• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Katie Zaferes, who was raised in St. Bartholomew Parish in Manchester, secures the bronze medal in the triathlon at the Tokyo Olympics July 27. (Courtesy World Triathlon Media)

Heeding her late father’s advice, Zaferes has fun while earning Olympic medals

August 12, 2021
By Paul McMullen
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Feature, Local News, News, Olympics, Sports

Katie Zaferes, who was raised in St. Bartholomew Parish in Manchester, is shown during the 10-K run portion of the triathlon at the Tokyo Olympics, where she won the bronze medal. (Courtesy World Triathlon Media)

Family matters loomed prominently for Katie Zaferes as she prepared for the Tokyo Olympics.

They will continue to do so as the former parishioner of St. Bartholomew in Manchester and world-class triathlete ponders a run at a third Olympics, in Paris, in 2024. 

Zaferes is still basking in the glow of a multiple-medal performance in Tokyo, where she took bronze in the women’s triathlon July 27, and four days later helped the United States to a silver in the mixed triathlon.

All of that followed an individual world championship in 2019, before COVID-19 shut down international competitions and delayed the Tokyo Olympics a year. Zaferes is 32 and among the global standard bearers for female endurance athletes, but on the fence about the Paris Olympics for a very good reason. 

“My husband, Tommy, and I would like to start a family, but we also don’t know what that timeline looks like,” Zaferes said via email, in response to a question about her plans for Paris. “I love doing what I do, so I will continue to train and race until that needs to be re-evaluated.”

The cycle of life also figured into her delayed and just-completed Olympiad, as her father, Bill Hursey, died unexpectedly last April, at age 60.

“It was the hardest time and the most challenging thing that I have ever gone through,” said Zaferes, who lives and trains out of Cary, N.C. “My dad was the best, and such an amazing and influential part of my life. It still doesn’t seem real that he is gone. It was overwhelming and hard to balance grieving him, wanting to be with my family and continuing to train and race in the pursuit of the Olympics. 

“I knew 100 percent that he would want me to continue on this path, and that he would be with me, but it took me a bit of time to find a rhythm and just be able to breathe again after he passed away,” she continued. “I’m thankful that he loved so outwardly, so I always knew how proud he was of me (and the rest of my family), and I knew this pride wasn’t dictated by results.

“He always just wanted me to race hard, but most of all have fun,” she said. “So that’s what I did and I know he’s proud now. I just wish he could have been here to be a part of it.”

Katie Zaferes is shown training on the bike course for the triathlon before the  Tokyo Olympics. (Courtesy World Triathlon Media)

Hursey had played football and basketball at South Carroll High School in the late 1970s, and remained active. Katie was a standout runner at North Carroll High and headed to Syracuse University in 2007, when he introduced her to what became her profession. Together, they competed in the Tri to Win Triathlon at South Carroll High that Father’s Day.

“Bill’s loving this,” Father Michael Roach, their pastor at St. Bartholomew, said midway through the Olympics. “I have to believe he has a front-row seat up there.”

Zaferes’ family here on Earth, of course, were denied access to the Tokyo Olympics, which barred spectators at most venues because of COVID-19 restrictions. While some elite athletes struggled with the Olympics being delayed a year, Zaferes did not waver as her career clock ticked.

“When I learned the Olympics were postponed in 2020, I knew I was going to need to take a step back from the intensity of our preparation to make sure I had all the energy I needed a year later,” she said. “This meant spending more time with family and friends and taking the time to explore places we might want to settle down. Then in December I restarted my build-up for the 2021 season.” 

After finishing 18th in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Zaferes finished third in Tokyo in the women’s triathlon, which moves from a 1,500-meter open-water swim to a 40-kilometer (24.9 miles) bike ride to a 10-K run (6.2 miles). In the mixed triathlon, she swam 300 meters, biked 8 kilometers and ran 2K – a veritable sprint.

“Preparation for the individual (triathlon) is really conducive to preparation for the mixed team relay,” Zaferes said. “I knew if I prepared myself well for the individual I would also be good to go for the mixed team relay, which of course was something that I really wanted to be a part of.”

Only a handful of Maryland high-schoolers had broken 5 minutes for the 1,600 meters when Zaferes did so in 2007. At Syracuse, she became a steeplechaser, led the cross country team to new heights, and earned a degree in physical education. 

“I really enjoy being involved in health and fitness and could definitely see myself doing something along that realm,” Zaferes said. “I would like to use the experiences I’ve had and things I’ve learned to help others be the best version of themselves. 

Email Paul McMullen at pmcmullen@CatholicReview.org

Also see

Region hosting Olympic skiing has history of Catholic persecution

Religious freedom commission welcomes U.S. diplomatic boycott of Olympics

Olympic champion gets hero’s welcome at Maryland Catholic school alma mater

N.J. Catholic high school alum breaks world record to win 400m hurdle gold

Ledecky gives shout-out to her grandparents after winning Olympic gold

Philippine weightlifter credits her Olympic success to her faith

Copyright © 2021 Catholic Review Media

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Paul McMullen

Paul McMullen, a resident of Austin, Texas, served as the managing editor of the Catholic Review from 2008 until his retirement in September 2021.

The author of two books, Paul has been involved in local media since age 12, when he began delivering The News American to 80 homes in his neighborhood. He began his journalism career with the Capital-Gazette Newspapers in Anne Arundel County, and spent more than 25 years as a sports writer for The Sun in Baltimore. His favorite writing assignments have included the Summer Olympics in Australia and Greece, the Archdiocese of Baltimore's response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and “Feet for Francis,” a 2015 walking pilgrimage from the Baltimore Basilica to Philadelphia to see Pope Francis.

View all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Pathfinders: Five Archdiocese of Baltimore women who made history
  • RADIO INTERVIEW: Dining with the Saints
  • Fire guts historic Catholic school in parish connected to St. John Neumann
  • Sister Elizabeth Ellen Kane, O.S.F., dies at 81
  • Legendary communist-era priest, Father Blachnicki, was murdered, Polish authorities confirm

| Latest Local News |

Catholic Charities’ William J. McCarthy Jr. named Loyola’s Business Leader of the Year

Sister Joan Cooper, O.S.F., dies at 94

Pathfinders: Five Archdiocese of Baltimore women who made history

| Latest World News |

Vatican envoy warns UN General Assembly racism mutating and ‘reemerging’ globally

‘We all need to do more’: House hearing demands action over Nicaragua regime’s anti-Catholic persecution

Notre Dame Cathedral reopening date announced as reconstruction on its famous spire wraps up in eastern France

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • An invitation from God
  • Vatican envoy warns UN General Assembly racism mutating and ‘reemerging’ globally
  • ‘We all need to do more’: House hearing demands action over Nicaragua regime’s anti-Catholic persecution
  • Notre Dame Cathedral reopening date announced as reconstruction on its famous spire wraps up in eastern France
  • AI and the meaning of life: Tech industry turns to religious leaders
  • Movie Review: ‘John Wick: Chapter 4, a festival of fatality’
  • Pope calls European bishops to be prophetic voices for peace
  • En la frontera de México y EE.UU., defensores de migrantes que buscan asilo hacen un llamado a la acción
  • At U.S.-Mexico border, migrants’ advocates call for action on U.S. asylum policy

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED