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US Olympic triathlon team set with a world champion and a cancer survivor

Katie Zaferes, the 2019 World champion, and Kevin McDowell, a cancer survivor, complete the five-member U.S. Olympic triathlon team.

USA Triathlon announced its two discretionary picks for Tokyo on Wednesday. Zaferes and McDowell join the already qualified Summer Rappaport, Taylor Knibb and Morgan Pearson.

Zaferes, who entered the Rio Games as a medal threat and finished 18th, won her world title two weeks after receiving 23 stitches in her mouth following a bike crash in a 2019 Olympic qualifier in Tokyo.

Zaferes took fifth at the 2020 World Championships, which was a one-off event rather than a series of races, due to the pandemic.