The 34th Asia Triathlon Congress took place in Osaka, Japan, on 30 May 2026, bringing together leaders from across the continent to discuss the future direction of triathlon in Asia. Chaired by Asia Triathlon (AST) President HH Prince Fahad Alsaud and attended by World Triathlon President Antonio F. Arimany, alongside representatives from Asia Triathlon’s member National Federations the congress outlined the strong focus and strategic direction of Asia Triathlon.
Opening Ceremony and Welcome Addresses
The Congress opened with a formal welcome delivered by HH Prince Fahad Alsaud, AST President, and Antonio F. Arimany, World Triathlon President, who both outlined the importance of continued collaboration to strengthen athlete pathways, governance, and event delivery. Kazuyo Iwatani, representing the Host City of Osaka, and Mitsuhide Iwaki, representing host federation Triathlon Japan, both also provided a welcome and acknowledged Japan’s ongoing role in supporting international sport governance and development.
In Memoriam
A minute’s silence was held in remembrance of five members of the Asia Triathlon community who had passed since the last Congress. The following individuals were formally honoured - H.E. Raja Randhir Singh, Former President of the Olympic Council of Asia; Mr Lou Dapeng, Founding President of Asia Triathlon; Mr Narayana Ramachandran, Former President of the Indian Triathlon Federation; An athlete from Hong Kong (name withheld); An athlete from South Korea (name withheld).
Congress Decisions and Membership Matters
Congress proceeded through a full constitutional agenda, with key membership decisions approved by the Assembly. These included - Yemen’s application to become a National Federation; Timor-Leste’s affiliation to Asia Triathlon; Reinstatement of Pakistan as an active member federation; Expulsion of Myanmar in accordance with governance and compliance procedures.
Presidential Address
In his Presidential Address, HH Prince Fahad Alsaud outlined Asia Triathlon’s strategic direction, highlighting ongoing structural reform, organisational strengthening, and long-term development initiatives designed to ensure a more sustainable, efficient, and globally aligned continental federation. HH emphasised the importance of strengthening systems that support National Federations, athletes, coaches, and technical officials across all levels of development.
Leadership Report
AST Senior Vice President (SVP), Tom Carrasco, provided a leadership report under the four strategic pillars of Governance and Structure, Member Development, Events, and Marketing and Communication, with a focus on building a stronger and more sustainable future for triathlon in Asia. Key progress and achievements Mr Carrasco outlined included the accreditation of 85 Technical Officials (40% female), 14 development projects delivered across 11 countries, and major events supported by Asia Triathlon including the Asian Beach Games, Bahrain Asian Youth Games, and the Islamic Solidarity Games.
Strategic Initiatives
With a focus on governance, organisation development and events, four key initiatives were presented - Governance Development; Shared Services Agreement (SSA); Strategic Planning; Strategic Collaboration. All four were expanded on throughout congress.
Governance and Finance
General constitutional reports were presented by AST Secretary General Masa Takaya, alongside financial reporting. A surplus was reported, with audit and governance oversight confirmed.
AST Strategic Plan and Progress Report
The AST Strategic Plan (2024-2028) and Progress Report was presented by AST SVP Tom Carrasco.
Governance & Organisational Development | Key Achievements - Committees and Commissions are now established across key areas, supporting AST's strategic objectives. An Asia Triathlon Age-Group Commission has been created, so age-group athletes are more effectively involved in decision-making processes. Executive Board liaisons to each Committee and Commission have been appointed.
As a part of the SSA (details below), Asia Triathlon Headquarters has been relocated to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with support by appointed staff and the opening of the federation’s official bank account in Riyadh.
Member Development | Key Achievements - Asia Triathlon has continued to work on member development through initiatives delivered under the Annual Continental Development Plan. Regional development projects across the continent are designed to support athletes, coaches, and technical officials. Progress has also been made in para triathlon through targeted development initiatives, including camps, coach education , and classification opportunities.
Events | Key Achievements - Event delivery has been strengthened through improved delivery, governance, and development. A process for bidding and awarding Continental Events has been introduced, providing transparency, consistency, and long-term planning for host National Federations. Development Regional Cups are to become a focus. A Technical Committee Advisory Council has enhanced technical expertise and support for event organisation and standards. Asia Triathlon collaborated with Europe Triathlon to deliver joint Continental Championships in Istanbul, creating racing opportunities for athletes from both continents.
Marketing & Communication | Key Achievements - Initiatives aimed at improving visibility, engagement, and digital integration have commenced. The long-standing partnership with NTT has been maintained, providing ongoing support for the federation’s communications and technology objectives. Asia Triathlon will enhanced its digital presence through better use of the triathlon.org platform.
AST Strategy Ongoing - Action plans aligned to each pillar, goals and sub-goals with measurable KPIs will be coordinated by AST and supported by World Triathlon. Continued monitoring through KPI's will be ongoing with amendments made when required.
Shared Services Agreement Update – Strategic Context
The Shared Services Agreement (SSA) between Asia Triathlon and the Saudi Triathlon Federation (S3F) was presented as a strategic initiative designed to strengthen the organisation’s operational capacity and governance framework. As Asia Triathlon continues to expand its activities across the continent, the need for more efficient operational infrastructure has increased. Current limitations have created additional pressure on the delivery of key strategic objectives, prompting the implementation of the SSA to provide institutional support and capability. The shared services model is intended to accelerate implementation, improve operational efficiency, and provide scalable support systems that can grow alongside the organisation's future needs.
Through the agreement, S3F provides functional support across several core areas of Asia Triathlon operations, including development programmes, finance and administration, marketing and communications, events and competitions, and commercial partnerships and sponsorship. This support is designed to strengthen organisational effectiveness, improve service delivery to member federations, and enable Asia Triathlon to focus on its long-term strategic goals while maintaining high standards of governance and operational performance.
Athlete Development and Regional Activities
Approved iniatives by the EB were presented to congress by Zita Csovelyak, Head of Member Services & Development, World Triathlon and Emma Carney, World Triathlon Hall of Fame athlete member and World Triathlon Development and Education Consultant. These iniatives are designed to create a clear pathway to world class athlete development in Asia and fall under the AST strategic pillar of Events. It was presented that -
- AST must increase its delivery of Development Regional Cup events in order to provide local regions with athletes and coaches increased opportunities to race and develop the skills required around travel, preparation, and race scheduling while also delivering results at an entry level.
- AST will develop, with the support of World Triathlon, a junior ranking system. This will be modelled from the 2 regions who have already adopted this – Europe and Americas. A Properly structured Junior race series and ranking will provide athletes and coaches with regular, accessible consistent and coordinated racing opportunities which will create a ranking series allowing for measurable performances, performance benchmarking, NF selection opportunities and comparable results over time. This ranking system will start on January 1 and finish on December 31 of each year. 5 level of results will be included – AST Junior Championships, AST Junior Cups, AST Regional Championships, AST Youth Championships, National Junior Championships. Each race has points attached with specific requirements with some cut off times applied to higher level races. Athletes of AST Member federations only can earn points. 2026 will pilot this iniative with the ranking systed effective immediately following congress with points applied to relevant races 1 Jan 2026 to 31 December 2026.
General AST Updates
Events - Under the Events update, Sarita T. Zafra outlined the invitation process for bidding for the 2027 competition calendar. All bids are to be submitted by 15 July 2026 and must include detailed documentation covering full event information, availability and levels of Technical Officials, draft schedules, alignment with World Triathlon anti-doping requirements. Host cities will be approved at the September Asia Triathlon Executive Board meeting.
Technical Officials - Technical Officials updates were also provided by Sarita T. Zafra, outlining the ongoing work of the Technical Committee Advisory Council, chaired by Zafra with Executive Board advisors Dr Tareq Khayyat and Masa Takaya. The Council continues to focus on enhancing the quality of race organisation and TO assignment.
Sport Development - The Sport Development report was presented by Firas Al-Hmood, highlighting that Asia Triathlon remains the most active region globally in coach revalidation. It was confirmed that 12 countries have qualified athletes for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, with representation of six male and six female athletes. Selections were also announced for the 2026 Astana Team Asia project, with participation confirmed for the 2026 Asia Triathlon Cup and Junior Cup Turkestan (KAZ) and the 2026 Asia Triathlon Cup New Taipei (TPE).
Para Triathlon - The Asia Para Triathlon programme was presented by Committee Chair Anthony R. Lozada, who reported continued growth in athlete participation across the region.
Women’s Committee - The Women’s Committee report was delivered by Tomoko Oda, outlining key achievements and future priorities. A major milestone was the launch of the Asia Triathlon Women’s Award of Excellence (AOE), which will be introduced in 2026 and awarded at the World Triathlon Women’s Cup in Dubai.
Coaches Committee - The Coaches Committee update was presented by Chair Kenta Ando, who reported continued improvements in coach data management, with centralised systems now in place. Key findings showed that Level 2 coaches remain concentrated in a limited number of federations, with only 23% of Level 2 coaches being female. In addition, several National Federations were identified as requiring targeted Level 2 support, including Mongolia and Uzbekistan. 30 NF's have Level 1 accredited coaches, while eight federations have none. This equates to 110 female Level 1 coaches, representing just under 30% of the total 372 accredited Level 1 coaches. Japan and Bahrain were identified as federations requiring targeted Level 1 coaching support. Member Federations were encouraged to maintain updated coach data submissions, ensure Level 1 and Level 2 nominations are current, complete AST coach surveys, and maintain engagement following certification.
20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026
The triathlon competition at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 was presented by JTS Sports Director Kiriyo Suzuki. The event will take place in Gamagori, Japan, with the men’s and women’s sprint events scheduled for 20 September 2026, and the mixed relay scheduled for 21 September 2026. A contingency day has been set for 22 September. The entry window opened on 1 May 2026 and close on 1 July 2026, with the competition scheduled 112 days following the Congress.
Sponsorship and Partnerships
The long-standing partnership with NTT was renewed, reinforcing its role as a key contributor to Asia Triathlon’s development and operational ecosystem. NTT’s support continues to underpin broadcast innovation, live streaming, tracking solutions, digital platforms, and para triathlon development. The partnership has been active since 1990, and became a global partnership with World Triathlon and Asia Triathlon in 2016. The next phase of partnership focus includes alignment with Asia’s regional development needs, strengthening event quality, supporting development pathways, increasing women’s participation, enhancing para triathlon delivery, and improving communications infrastructure.
Strategic Partnerships and International Collaboration
Two strategic announcements were made to strengthen global collaboration for the future of triathlon. The first was a continental cooperation agreement between Asia Triathlon and Africa Triathlon, focused on shared development opportunities and long-term collaboration between the two regions. The second was a partnership between Wilier Triestina Bikes and Asia Triathlon, supporting federation development and operational growth across the region.
Closing Remarks
In closing, President HH Prince Fahad Alsaud thanked the Host City of Osaka, Triathlon Japan, and all National Federations for their contributions to Congress. HH reaffirmed the vision for Asia Triathlon and announced his intention to extend his term as President, reinforcing continuity in leadership and the ongoing strategic direction of the federation.