Karen Smyers

  • United States
  • Born: 1962
Starts
40
Podiums
23
Wins
12
Biography

Karen Smyers is a USA Triathlon legend, who retains an unquenchable passion for her sport.  Competitively, Smyers won the ITU Olympic distance World Championship in both 1990 and 1995, and completed an historic double by taking the Ironman World Championship in that same year of 1995. Smyers also won the 1996 ITU Long Course World Championship in Muncie, Indiana, took seven World Cup wins, Pan American gold in 1995 and 1999, and won the ITU Triathlon World Cup overall title in 1991.

Smyers is equally well known for her survival instincts.  She came back from a sliced hamstring (suffered while changing a storm window), suffered a collapsed lung and multiple broken bones when hit by an truck on a training ride, shook off a broken collarbone and multiple injuries in a 1999 race crash (which ended her 17-year streak of never dropping out of a race ), and also survived a bout with thyroid cancer in 1999. Now a mother of 2, she is described by ‘Slowtwitch’ as “gracious…, humble…the triathlon star most age groupers would like to have beer with…”

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Latest Athlete Results
22
2000 Sydney ITU Triathlon World Cup
16 Apr, 2000 - Elite Women - 02:07:44
16
2000 Big Island ITU Triathlon World Cup
01 Apr, 2000 - Elite Women - 02:07:01
DNF
1999 Ixtapa PATCO Triathlon American Cup
13 Nov, 1999 - Elite Women - DNF
3
1999 Cancun ITU Triathlon World Cup
10 Oct, 1999 - Elite Women - 01:58:19
38
1999 Montreal ITU Triathlon World Championships
12 Sep, 1999 - Elite Women - 02:01:00
view full results
7
1999 Winnipeg Pan American Games
1999-07-24 - Elite Women - 02:02:45
1
1995 Mar del Plata Pan American Games
1995-03-26 - Elite Women - 02:04:51
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Athlete Fact Sheet
Given Name Karen
Family Name Smyers
Representing USA
Year of Birth 1962
Residence United States
Website https://www.karensmyers.com/
World Triathlon Athlete ID 10334
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