In a significant development for the sport, the Executive Board of World Triathlon has approved a series of updates to the Competition Rules that will be enforced from February 27, 2025. This comprehensive review, led by the Technical Committee and the World Triathlon Sports Department, incorporated feedback from athletes, local organizing committees (LOCs), national federations, continental confederations, various committees, and reports from Technical Delegates (TDs).

Among the key updates included in the new rules:

Mixed Relay order change
One of the most notable changes is the revised order of athletes in all Mixed Relay races for the Olympic cycle until the 2028 LA Olympic and Paralympic Games. From 2025 onwards, the sequence will be woman - man - woman - man, as it was for the Tokyo 2020 cycle. 

Note that this new order is also applicable to Age-Group category.

Sprint events to be awarded equal points
The previous 25% reduction for sprint events and the 12.5% reduction for semifinal/final and eliminator events have been removed to uphold competitive equity across all race formats. From now on, all the races, regardless of distance, will award the same number of ranking points. 

Athlete Briefing change of day
From now on, the Athlete’s Briefing for all categories and all races will be conducted on the day before the race at 16h. 

Modified Drafting Penalties
The penalties for drafting violations have been revised and reduced across various race distances, reflecting a more balanced approach to competition integrity. The new penalty durations are as follows:

- Long Distance: Reduced to 3 minutes

- Middle Distance: Reduced to 2 minutes

- Standard Distance: Reduced to 1 minute

- Sprint Distance: Reduced to 30 seconds

The drafting zone has been unified for all events to 12 meters and 25 seconds to pass another athlete. 

Reduced time penalties
Time penalties for all other infringements remain as they were, but a new category has been included: Super Sprint race time penalties will be 5 seconds. 

Apparel Regulations
Elite athletes will now be allowed to wear uniforms with sleeves that extend down to the elbow. This is applicable at all distances and all events.

Swim Water Quality Standards 
By still ensuring the athletes' safety, the acceptable levels of Enterococci and E. coli in swim courses have been relaxed from 'excellent' to 'good.' Importantly, the decision to cancel the swim due to water quality will now involve a collaborative assessment by a group that includes a Medical Committee representative, the Medical Delegate, and the LOC Medical Director, rather than a single individual.

Swim behaviour

Athletes are not allowed to push an inanimate object to propel themselves forward.

To avoid injuries, finger and toenails will need to be short in order for the athlete to be authorized to start. Jewelry is forbidden, as are watches, in principle, but the Head Referee may authorize the wearing of watches. This will be for Elite races only.

Age- Group Mixed Relay change of ages
Age ranges for Age- Group Mixed Relay events will now be determined by the total combined age of all team members, not the individual ages of each team member.  Eg. 60-79, 80-119, 120-159, etc every 40 years 

Event Participation Criteria
The minimum age to compete in higher-level competitions has been raised, emphasizing that the category of competition will now be considered in addition to the distance as a limiting factor.

These updates mark a proactive step by World Triathlon to enhance the competitive landscape, prioritize athlete welfare, and modernize regulations in line with feedback from stakeholders. The community can look forward to seeing how these changes impact the sport in the upcoming Olympic cycle and beyond, fostering a more exciting and fair competition environment.

CLARIFICATION

World Triathlon wants to clarify that all updates on the Competition Rules communicated on January 28, 2025 will be in place from February 27, 2025, as per article 1.9 of the Rules: 

“The World Triathlon Competition Rules may be changed from time to time by the World Triathlon Technical Committee at its discretion, with the approval of the World Triathlon Executive Board. Any rule change(s) shall be advised in writing to affiliated National Federations at least 30 days before it/they is/are to take effect unless the World Triathlon Executive Board decides otherwise. Updated World Triathlon Competition Rules will be posted on the World Triathlon website (www.triathlon.org).”

This timelines applies to all, including the World Triathlon Ranking points, where the 25% reduction of sprint distance will be still applicable as per the 2024 criteria. Furthermore, uniforms with sleeves can’t be used on standard or short distance by the elite athletes during this period till the 27th of February.

Using the opportunity of this communication, we would like to clarify that the short sleeve uniforms for standard and shorter distances can only have a zipper on the back and there will be no more sponsor spaces available on those uniforms than in the current rules for the time being.

We have received feedback on the restrictions of wearing jewellery during the competitions. As it came from the athletes and for the safety of the athletes mainly during the swim, we would like to ensure that the interpretation of such rule will be clarified with further inputs from the Athletes Committee.

During this transition period, exceptions may be made in the events with a Mixed Relay that will be hosted during this period (Abu Dhabi Championship Series and Cogne Winter Triathlon Championships) so that the rule regarding the order of the relay for the Olympic cycle of LA 2028 will be already in place. That is, the order of the Mixed Relay in those two events will be woman-man-woman-man. 

Another exception may be made in all events before February 27, 2025 to allow the briefing to happen one day before the event, as per the updates on the Competition Rules.

READ THE UPDATED COMPETITION RULES HERE