Paralympic triathlon preview: Everything you need to know about Sunday’s races
Categories, schedule and how and who to watch!
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
Triathlon became an official event at the Paralympics in Rio in 2026 and will be a showcase event for this year’s Games in Paris, following a similar route to the triathlon event that takes in many of the city’s most prestigious landmarks.
Photo above: Canadian Stefan Daniel finishing third at last year’s Paris Test Event. Daniel won the the silver medal at the Paralympics in Rio and the bronze in Tokyo.
Originally the Para events were to be held over two days, but with rain in the forecast, Paris 2024 and World Triathlon officials have moved all the racing to one day – this Sunday, September 1.
Classification
Athletes go through the classification process before competing. The assessment process assesses each athlete and allocates each athlete to a category based on “the degree and nature of their eligible impairments,” according to the Paris 2024 organizers.
- PTWC 1-2: athletes with limitations in lower and upper limbs, using a handcycle for the cycling segment and a racing chair for the running segment. PTWC1 and PTWC2 compete in combined events, with an interval start system per sport class to ensure a level playing field.
- PTS2-5: athletes with limitations in lower and/or upper limbs who do not require a handcycle for the cycling segment or a racing chair for the running segment. Assistive devices such as prosthetic legs and/or bike modifications are allowed.
- PTVI 1-3: athletes with vision impairment. Interval starts ensure a level playing field between partially sighted triathletes and blind triathletes competing with a guide.
Source: paris2024.org
Course
The para triathletes will compete over the sprint distance, including a:
- 750 m, one loop swim
- 20 km (1.5 km junction to 5 laps of a 3.7 km loop)
- 5 km run (1.2 km junction to 2 laps of a 1.9 km loop)
The transition for the Paralympic events will be on the bank of the Seine River rather than on the bridge. The finish will be in the same spot as the triathlon – on the Pont Alexandre III bridge.
Schedule – Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024 – all times local:
08:15:00 Start PTWC1 Men
08:18:00 Start PTWC2 Men
08:20:00 Start PTWC1 Women
08:23:38 Start PTWC2 Women
09:25:00 Start PTS3 Men
09:30:00 Start PTS2 Men
09:35:00 Start PTS2 Women
12:00:00 Start PTVI1 Men
12:02:41 Start PTVI2/3 Men
12:05:00 Start PTVI1 Women
12:08:11 Start PTVI2/3 Women
12:20:00 Start PTS5 Men
12:25:00 Start PTS4 Men
12:35:00 Start PTS5 Women
12:40:00 Start PTS4 Women
14:40:00 Medal Ceremonies
Race day action
The Para triathlon events will be streamed live – in Canada you can catch the action on cbc.ca, while in the US it will be streamed live on Peacock. The first race will start at 2:15 AM EST.
In terms of watching all the action, here are some of the athletes to keep an eye on in each of the categories:
PTWC
The Netherlands’ Jetze Plat will try for a three-peat after winning this category in Rio and Tokyo. He’s likely to face stiff competition from countryman Geert Schipper and also from Tokyo silver medalist Florian Brungraber.
The women’s race will feature Ironman handcycle champion Lauren Parker (AUS), who will look to move up a step on the podium ahead of Tokyo gold medalist in this category, American Kendall Gretsch. Tokyo bronze medalist Eva Moral (ESP) will no-doubt be back in search of another podium finish, while Canadian Leanne Taylor is fresh off a win at the Americas Paratriathlon Championship in Miami, and hopes to move up a few spots after her fourth-place finish at the Paris Test Event.
PTS2
There’s definitely a chance that we could see an all US podium in this category as Hailey Danz, Melissa Stockwell and Allysa Seeley – those three managed that feat in 2016 in Rio, when Seeley took gold ahead of Danz and Stockwell. Seeley and Danz defended their gold and silver medals in Tokyo, with Italy’s Veronica Yoko Plebani taking the bronze. Adding to the fun is Australian Anu Francis, who currently sits second in the Paralympic standings in this category.
There wasn’t a PTS2 race at the Games in Tokyo, but heading into this year’s race American Mohamed Lahna sits at the top of the Paralympic standings ahead of the Netherlands’ Maurits Morsink and France’s Jules Ribstein.
PTS3
There will only be men racing in this category in Paris, and we’re expecting a close race between the Netherlands’ Nico Van Der Burgt and Spain’s Daniel Molina. French hopes rest with Cedric Denuziere, while Germany’s Max Gelhaar and Australian Justin Godfrey could also contend for medals.
PTS4
American Kelly Elmlinger won the test event last year and has pretty much dominated this category since her first World Para event in 2018 with a string of wins or silver medal performances. Last year just three seconds separated Spains Marta Frances Gomez and Germany’s Elke Van Engelen at the finish line in Paris, so look for a spirited race for the medals in September.
All eyes will be on defending gold medalist Alexis Hanquinquant from France, but he’ll have his countryman Pierre-Antoine Baele (who was just seven seconds behind the Tokyo gold medalist at last year’s test event) to contend with again. Tokyo silver medalist Hideki Uda will also be one to watch in this category, as will American Carson Clough, Croatia’s Antonio Franko and Aussie Jeremy Peacock.
PTS5
Defending champion Lauren Steadman and Rio champion Grace Norman are set for another showdown in Paris, with another Brit, Claire Cashmore (the bronze medalist from Tokyo) and Canadian Kamylle Frenette (fourth in Tokyo) looking to try and get in the medal mix as well.
In what’s anticipated to be among the most exciting of the Para triathlon events, Germany’s Martin Schulz will look for his third gold medal in this category. Canadian Stefan Daniel, who took silver in Rio and bronze in Tokyo will look to complete his medal collection, while American Chris Hammer, who finished fourth in Rio and Tokyo, is more than a little motivated to earn a medal this time around. Two other names to add to the mix are Hungary’s Bence Mocsari and Brazil’s Ronan Cordero.
PTVI
Spain’s Susana Rodriguez, the defending gold medalist, will arrive in Paris as the favourite, but look for Germany’s Anja Renner, along with Italian silver medalist from Tokyo Anna Barbaro along with her countrywoman Francesca Tarantello to compete for the top of the podium, too. Add France’s Annouck Curzillat, the bronze medalist from Tokyo and Heloise Courvoisier to the mix and you have the makings of an exciting race.
A photo finish at the Americas Paratriathlon Championships Miami between Americans Owen Cravens and Kyle Coon certainly put them on our radar as medal hopefuls for Paris, but we can expect the likes of Great Britain’s Dave Ellis, the Commonwealth Games champion and winner of last year’s Test Event, and Spain’s Hector Caatala Laparra, the Tokyo silver medalist, to be looking for a spot on the top of the podium, too. French hopes ride on Thibaut Rigaudeau, who had a dominant performance at the World Triathlon Para Series Montreal in June.
