Athletes with Intellectual Impairment competing in Townsville receive a special recognition

by Olalla Cernuda on 18 Aug, 2024 01:01

For the first time in World Triathlon history, the 2024 World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Townsville awarded a separate set of medals to athletes with Intellectual Impairment that are competing at the event – even if this impairment is currently not considered under the Para triathlon classification system but is an IPC-recognised impairment.

World Triathlon Executive Board aproved this year to give recognition to athletes with Intellectual Impairment who have already qualified in the Age-Group events, with the full support of the Intellectual Impairment Working Group that has been seeking for opportunities for these athletes alongside World Triathlon or entities such as Virtus and Special Olympics for the last two years.

The athletes competing in Townsville met their National Federation qualification criteria and followed the standard registration process, and have already competed in the first two events of the Multisport Championship, the Sprint distance Duathlon World Championships and the Standard Distance Duathlon Championship.

Georgia Powning (AUS) and Cameron Marshall (AUS) received a gold medal for their participation at the Sprint distance duathlon; Montana Whiteley (AUS) and Carlo Manolitsas (AUS) a silver medal, and Clara Campillos (AUS) and Andre Ascui (AUS) a bronze medal. Cameron Marshall and Montana Whiteley also received a gold medal for their participation at the Standard Distance Duathlon.

Para Duathlon World Championships

In the Para Duathlon World Championships, Matthew Engesser (AUS) was the faster around the course in the PTS4 category, finishing ahead of France’s Mathieu Rella and New Zealand’s Kurt Peterson.

Fiona Southorn of New Zealand claimed the PTS5 women’s title in the Para Duathlon, crossing the line in 1:14:43. John Domandl (AUS) was the winner and only participant in the PTVI class, stopping the clock on 01:30:45. Diego Alfonso Lares Garcia, from Mexico, was the winner in the PTS2 class, while Bruce Jordan (NZL) is th new World Duathlon champion on the PTS5 category.