After Earning a Silver Medal for Team USA in Paris, Redondo Beach Native Taylor Spivey Sets Her Sights on LA 2028

With a laugh, 34-year-old Taylor Spivey jokes that she first competed in a triathlon while still in her mom’s womb, albeit in the early months of pregnancy. She was destined to be an athlete—her parents met while both were competing in the event. Taylor’s dream came true last summer when she returned from the Paris 2024 Olympics wearing a silver medal, earned as a member of the USA mixed relay team. 

Growing up in the South Bay, she became a national champion competing as a Junior Lifeguard on the beaches of Los Angeles. Eventually she became an L.A. County Lifeguard. 

She played water polo at Mira Costa High School and was a Division 1 swimmer for California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. During her time at Cal Poly, she discovered her love for the triathlon—an endurance race where athletes compete consecutively in swimming, cycling and running. 

It was not long before she was invited to be on the Olympic development team even though she had no background in running. She started competing in under-23 events and quickly progressed to race against the best in the field. 

Despite Taylor’s relentless training for the Olympics, her strong world ranking and her stellar performances, the committee gave the third and final spot for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to another competitor. While other athletes may have quit, Taylor persevered.  

“She embodies the mentality of ‘thank you, sir, I’ll have another,’” says lifelong friend Stef Corgel, a fellow athlete and fitness influencer. “I watched Taylor handle every brand of adversity on her journey to the Olympics and add it to her fire. Only someone as gritty as Taylor could handle a horrible bicycle accident, training across the world so far from family and friends, missed holidays, the daily sacrifices and then a head-scratching decision from the committee.”

The disappointment became a turning point, pushing Taylor to become not only stronger and faster but more consistent. “Never count Taylor out,” says her father, Marc. “For the next four years she raced so consistently.” 

She qualified for Paris 2024 individually as well as for the United States mixed relay team. “She definitely earned her spot for Paris,” Marc says. “To sit along the River Seine and watch her medal was surreal. It just doesn’t get much better as a parent, and the tears were flowing.” 

After the individual races, where Taylor placed 10th, Team USA stepped away from the Olympic Village for a few days to recover and focus on the relay. “We came back with a bit more energy, and we wanted to give everything—not just for ourselves but for each other,” Taylor shares. “Winning an Olympic medal is every athlete’s dream. To win silver with Team USA in such a close race was really special.”

Shortly after the games, the T100 Triathlon tour invited Taylor to compete as a “hot shot” wild card. The middle-distance race—covering 70.3 miles including a 1.9 km swim, 90 km cycling and a 21.1 km run—seemed like a fun opportunity to Taylor. It kept both her body and mind busy and was a great release after the intensity of the Olympics.

Taylor’s ambitious 2025 goals include the World Triathlon Championship Series, the T100 tour and the Supertri series (short course). Next, the California girl has her sights set on a full-circle moment as she strives to compete once again on the beaches of Los Angeles—this time as the hometown Olympian for the 2028 games. 

For certain, Venice Beach will be filled with not only a crowd of L.A. County Lifeguards supporting one of their own, but also a slew of Taylor’s fans, family and friends from here in the South Bay.