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 The 2022 World Triathlon Championship Series was the 14th season of the World Triathlon Championship Series, the top level international series for triathlon, since its establishment in 2009, and crowned the 34th official World Triathlon Champion ...

event in Abu Dhabi. 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 is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, where she was fifth behind British teammate

Sophie Coldwell Sophie Coldwell (born 25 February 1995) is a British triathlete. She competed in the women's event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. and has achieved several medals in International Triathlon Union (ITU) and European Triathlon Union (ETU) Champion ...

, before coming second to Beth Potter in the World Triathlon Championship Finals in

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is als ...

. Waugh also finished seventh in the Olympic Games Test Event for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, picking up a silver medal in the Mixed Team Relay. Waugh also competes in

Super League Triathlon Supertri is a global leader in short course triathlon with a mission to inspire growth in both fans of the professional sport and participants of all age abilities. Supertri organises three types of triathlon races under it's brand pillars: Sup ...

. 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 Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, France in 2023. In 2025 Waugh was selected as a Hot Shot for the PTO's T100 Traithlon. She won the very first event in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

with a record breaking gap to second place.

Early life

Waugh was born in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, and attended the

Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne The Royal Grammar School (RGS), Newcastle upon Tyne, is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for pupils aged between 7 and 18 years. Founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, the Mayor of Newca ...

. 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. Waugh has cited the

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Olympics, and the performances of

Jessica Ennis-Hill Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill (née Ennis; born 28 January 1986) is a British retired athlete who specialised in the heptathlon and 100 metres hurdles. As a competitor in heptathlon, she is the 2012 Olympic champion, a three-time world champion (2 ...

, as inspiration for her goals of competing at the Olympic Games. 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 The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

exam the previous day. Waugh studies Psychology at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, although her studies are currently on hold having moved to Monte Gordo, Portugal to focus on her athletic career.

Career

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. 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. In 2018, Waugh was added the British Triathlon Olympic Podium Potential team. 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 Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

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 Alexander Amos Yee (born 18 February 1998) is a British professional triathlete and distance runner. He is the 2024 World and Olympic champion in standard or 'Olympic' distance triathlon, the second man to win both titles in a single year. He ...

, Ben Dijkstra and Olivia Mathias. After a year affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 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 Beth Potter (born 27 December 1991) is a Scottish triathlete and long distance runner. She competed for Great Britain in athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In 2019 she won the gold medal at the European Triathlon Championsh ...

in Haeundae and Tongyeong. 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 Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

. In 2023, Waugh secured three top tens in elite events, before coming second in the World Championship finals to teammate

, ending up a career-high ninth in the World Rankings. In June 2024, Waugh was selected to represent Great Britain at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She competed in the women's triathlon at the Olympics, ultimately placing 15th.

Super League Triathlon

Waugh first took part in the

series in 2018 in

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

, where she wore the white jersey. 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. In October 2023, Waugh came in second in the final event of the season in

NEOM Neom (styled NEOM; , ) is an arcology and planned city being built by Saudi Arabia in Tabuk Province. Launched in 2017 by crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, the site is at the northern tip of the Red Sea, due east of Egypt across the Gulf of A ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, to claim the overall title ahead of

Jeanne Lehair Jeanne Lehair (born March 30, 1996) is a French born Luxembourg professional triathlete. She changed her nationality in time to compete at the Paris Olympics and she became the European Champion in 2023 under her new flag. Life Lehair was born ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

T100 Triathlon Series

In 2025 Kate Waugh was selected by the PTO as a Hot Shot for the middle distance Triathlon series,

T100 Triathlon T100 Triathlon (also known as the T100 Triathlon World Tour) is a series of professional and amateur triathlon races operated by the Professional Triathletes Organisation, Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO). The first year of thT100 Tria ...

. The first event took place in

on the 5th of April 2025. Waugh was part of the lead swim group, with fellow Britons

Jess Learmonth Jessica Learmonth (born 18 April 1988) is a British triathlete. Learmonth is a European, Commonwealth, Olympic and World Triathlon Series medal winner based in Leeds, England where she trains at the Leeds Triathlon Centre. She won the European T ...

and

Lucy Charles-Barclay Lucy Charles-Barclay (born 15 September 1993) is an English professional triathlete specialising in the Ironman and 70.3 ("half-Ironman") distances. She is the 2023 World Ironman champion and the 2021 World Champion in the 70.3 discipline, both ...

. She won with a 6 minute 41 second margin ahead of Austrian triathlete Lisa Perterer, Charles-Barclay in third place. In the second round in San Francisco, Waugh recorded another podium, finishing third to lead the series by 17 points.

Personal life

Until March 2025, Waugh split her time between Monte Gordo, Portugal, and Font Romeu, near Odeillo in France with her then partner, the British triathlete Max Stapley. Waugh comes from a sporting family, with her great-grandfather having represented the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

, a heritage which means Waugh also holds New Zealand citizenship. Her father, Kevin, was a world-record holding hurdler, and received attention in 1998 for covering the

Angel of the North The ''Angel of the North'' is a contemporary sculpture by Antony Gormley, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Completed in 1998, it is seen by an estimated 33 million people every year due to its proximity to the A1 road (Great Bri ...

with a

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

shirt with the name and number of

Alan Shearer Alan Shearer (born 13 August 1970) is an English Association football, football pundit and former professional player who played as a striker (association football), striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of t ...

on the back. She is sponsored by Specialized having previously ridden Swift and

Canyon Bicycles Canyon Bicycles GmbH (abbr.: Canyon) is a German distributor and partly manufacturer of road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid bikes, triathlon bikes and electric bicycle, e-bikes based in Koblenz, Germany. History In 1985, Roman Arnold and his br ...

, as well as Orca wetsuits, nutritional product BOA Blast, and Fusion Sportswear. In October 2023 she announced a partnership with Swiss athletic company On. In March 2025 Waugh announced a sponsorship deal with clothing company Ryzon. Waugh has previously modeled for

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

References

External links

Kate Waugh
at Triathlon.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Waugh, Kate Living people 1999 births Alumni of the University of Leeds English female triathletes People educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne Sportspeople from Gateshead Triathletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century English sportswomen