World Triathlon

World Triathlon is thrilled to announce the slots for the Para triathlon events at this year’s Paralympic Games have been confirmed. Through the dual qualification pathways of the rankings system and the Bipartite Commission invitations, a total of 121 athletes from 29 national federations have earned places.

Growing the tent

Rio 2016 was the first time Para triathlon was included in the Paralympics. In the sport’s debut at the Games, 60 athletes from 18 countries contested 6 medal events. In Tokyo, 80 athletes took on 8 medal events with a total of 19 countries represented. Looking ahead to Paris, there has been a major leap forward in every respect of Para triathlon participation at the Games.

There will be 11 medal events and the 121 athletes due to race signify the largest ever paratriathlon cohort at the Games. In addition to the original 120 slots, a berth has been allocated by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for an athlete to compete for the Refugee Paralympic Team (RPT).

Most significantly, 29 National Federations will be represented. This is an increase of over 50% from the Tokyo Paralympics. In the 2022-2025 strategic plan, World Triathlon had targeted an increase in the range of participating National Federations in Paris and is therefore delighted with the wide participation to come. Moreover the Para triathlon events will see representation from the RPT and from the Neutral Paralympic Athletes team. As the final preparations for Paris get underway, the Games promises to be the biggest yet from a triathlon perspective.

The slot allocation

With respect to the slots themselves, there will be a total of 66 men racing in Paris and 55 women. There will be 6 men’s medal events to 5 women’s. A national breakdown of the places can be seen below:

• France – 17 slots
• USA – 16
• Spain – 13
• Australia – 12
• Great Britain – 11
• Italy – 6
• Germany, Netherlands – 5
• Japan – 4
• Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Poland – 3
• Mexico, Neutral Paralympic Athletes – 2
• Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Portugal, South Africa, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, Refugee Paralympic Team – 1

Stay tuned as the recipients of the Paralympic places are confirmed across World Triathlon channels in the coming days and weeks.