Kaitlin Knifton

Kaitlin was named the Big 12 Athlete of the Year in 2023 and was the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2023. She was named USRowing's 2022 Under 23 Female Athlete of the Year and was a 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee. Kaitlin enjoys workout classes, drawing, makeup, and digital marketing. Before joining rowing, she danced for 13 years; and in high school, she performed in the Macy's Day Parade. Kaitlin's dad was a rower on the club team at UT and also rowed on the national team after college. He currently owns a rowing club in Austin called the Texas Rowing Center, where she rowed in high school. In her sophomore year of high school, her dad finally convinced Kaitlin to give rowing a try, and she has been in love with it ever since. One of her personal heroes is her dad. In addition to owning Texas Rowing Center, he created the TRC High Performance Center. Kaitlin said she is so inspired watching him do what he loves everyday and changing the lives of the rowers that train there. Her favorite place to compete at is Sarasota, Florida, and her favorite place to travel to is London, England. Her most memorable Olympic moment is when Kerri Strug secured the gold for Team USA at the 1996 Olympics, overcoming an ankle injury.