World Triathlon

The Paralympic qualifying window came to an end with some thrilling action at the World Para Series event in Montreal back in June as athletes battled for the medals in wet conditions. For some, though, the racing had a wider significance in determining the final Paralympic qualification rankings. Now that the Games are almost upon us and the final slots have been allocated, it is time to look at which names made the start lists.

As a reminder, Para-triathletes could qualify for Paris by being ranked in the top-9 of their respective classifications. Across the six men’s disciplines, that will give 54 athletes at the Games. A further 16 slots across the men’s and women’s events were then added through invitations by the Bipartite Commission while an exceptional additional slot was allocated for an athlete to compete under the Refugee Paralympic Team (RPT). Read on to find out which men have secured the Paralympic berths and how the different qualifying contests unfolded in the closing stages of the qualifying period.

PTWC

1) Geert Schipper H2 (NED) 1720.59 points
2) Jetze Plat H2 (NED) 1647.50
3) Florian Brungraber H2 (AUT) 1616.44
4) Howie Sanborn H1 (USA) 1571.22
5) Giovanni Achenza H1 (ITA) 1554.02
6) Nic Beveridge H1 (AUS) 1479.34
7) Giuseppe Romele H1 (ITA) 1450.00
8) Louis Noel H2 (FRA) 1449.93
9) Jumpei Kimura H1 (JPN) 1405.89
10) Fathi Zwoucki H1 (TUN) 1376.68

Some athletes left it late. Some athletes left it extremely late. And then there was Giuseppe Romele. Romele seemingly had too much work to do, but then he won the race in Montreal on the final day of the qualifying window. The all-important 550 points that came with his superb gold medal lifted him from 10th to 7th and into the Games. Elsewhere, the reigning world champion Schipper held onto his lead in the rankings. However, the reigning Paralympic champion Plat moved up from 6th to 2nd with some strong results in June. Brungraber was another to gain a place as he overtook Sanborn late on.

PTVI

1) Dave Ellis B3 (GBR) 1800.00 points
2) Thibaut Rigaudeau B3 (FRA) 1706.25
3) Antoine Perel B1 (FRA) 1565.19
4) Owen Cravens B3 (USA) 1562.77
5) Héctor Catalá Laparra B2 (ESP) 1465.12
6) Oscar Kelly B3 (GBR) 1452.80
7) Kyle Coon B1 (USA) 1415.21
8) Sam Harding B3 (AUS) 1409.07
9) Łukasz Wietecki B3 (POL) 1408.75
10) Satoru Yoneoka B1 (JPN) 1343.04
11) Jose Luis Garcia Serrano B1 (ESP) 1335.30
12) Lazar Filipovic B2 (SRB) 1217.53

The PTVI class saw another athlete leave it late in Montreal. Wietecki finished 2nd at the final race of the qualifying window to climb two places and secure 9th in the rankings. Otherwise, the defining question of the category remains simple. How can anyone beat Ellis? The reigning world champion has not put a toe wrong in his qualifying run and he currently appears to be well on course for a first Paralympic gold in Paris. With home support to cheer them on, though, Rigaudeau and Perel will back themselves to translate their 2nd and 3rd places in the qualifying standings to Paralympic glory.

PTS2

1) Mohamed Lahna (USA) 1747.50 points
2) Maurits Morsink (NED) 1657.69
3) Mark Barr (USA) 1608.75
4) Jules Ribstein (FRA) 1600.00
5) Lionel Morales (ESP) 1533.36.77
6) Wim De Paepe (BEL) 1415.21
7) Geoffrey Wersy (FRA) 1399.31
8) Stephane Bahier (FRA) 1394.05
9) Thomas Goodman (AUS) 1355.62
10) Gianluca Valori (ITA) 1323.78
12) Juan Esteban Patino Giraldo (COL) 1281.40

The PTS2 class saw yet another major last-minute shift at one of the final races of the qualification period; you guessed it, in Montreal. With three French athletes hunting the two rankings slots for their home Games, every point mattered. It was Wersy that made the late charge as he claimed the bronze medal in Montreal which proved enough to overhaul Bahier by the narrowest of margins. After a year of qualifying, only 5 points separated the two countrymen, Juan Patino Giraldo of Colombia seizing his opportunity for a Paris 2024 start.

PTS3

1) Daniel Molina (ESP) 1658.75
2) Nico Van Der Burgt (NED) 1654.02 points
3) Max Gelhaar (GER) 1647.50
4) Cedric Denuziere (FRAU) 1616.44
5) Henry Urand (GBR) 1508.75
6) Justin Godfrey (AUS) 1491.81
7) Michael Herter (FRA) 1455.89
8) Diego Lardón Ferrer (ESP) 1355.89
9) Hwang Tae Kim (KOR) 1355.62
12) Ibrahim Al Hussein (TRI) 1232.83
15) Viktor Chebotarev (AIN) 866.25

A 3rd place finish from Lardón in Montreal capped a late run into the top-9 after he also finished 4th in Swansea. Together, those two results helped to shunt Giovanni Sciaccaluga (ITA) out of the top-9. Wins for Gelhaar at the World Para Cup in Besancon and the World Para Series in Swansea likewise made for an eventful month and propelled him to 3rd in the standings. Having won the silver medal at the World Championships in 2023, the German athlete is hitting red-hot form at the right time. Ibrahim Al Hussein races as part of the Refugee Team.

PTS4

1) Alexis Hanquinquant (FRA) 1800.00 points
2) Carson Clough (USA) 1571.22
3) Pierre-Antoine Baele (FRA) 1541.28
4) Michael Taylor (GBR) 1450.00
5) Antonio Franko (CRO) 1485.78
6) Nil Riudavets Victory (ESP) 1474.61
7) Jeremy Peacock (AUS)1447.23
8) Gregoire Berthon (FRA)  1350.00
9) Liam Twomey (AUS) 1352.78
10) Eric McElvenny (USA) 1308.26
11) Finley Jakes (GBR) 1303.09
12) Alejandro Sanchez Palomero (ESP) 1268.90
13) Hideki Uda (JPN) 1258.24

The PTS4 class saw an example of the French team’s strength in depth in Montreal as Berthon took the silver medal in Canada however ended the window as the third French man in the top-9. With Hanquinquant and Baele lodged in the top-3, there will be high hopes for multiple home podiums in the men’s PTS4 category in Paris.

PTS5

1) Stefan Daniel (CAN) 1706.25 points
2) Chris Hammer (USA) 1698.94
3) Martin Schulz (GER) 1658.75
4) Ronan Cordeiro (BRA) 1533.06
5) Jack Howell (AUS) 1524.03
6) Bence Mocsari (HUN) 1498.07
7) David Bryant (AUS) 1349.34
8) Ugurcan Ozer (TUR) 1338.48
9) Filipe Marques (POR) 1335.30
10) Jairo Ruiz Lopes (ESP) 1322.14

A majestic win for Hammer in Montreal nudged him back ahead of Schulz after some previous back and forth in the rankings. Cordeiro was another to make a late rise in the standings but otherwise there was no real change in the composition of the men’s PTS5 rankings during the final few weeks. Daniel held on to his place at the summit of the rankings although Hammer certainly pushed him close. The question remains, however; can either man do anything to stop Martin Schulz completing a hat-trick of Paralympic golds? 

Stay up to date on the latest Para triathlon developments across all World Triathlon channels as we draw nearer to this summer’s Paralympic Games.