In the two editions to date, the PTS5 Paralympic Triathlon events have already earned a reputation for the spectacular. In Tokyo, it was Lauren Steadman and Martin Schulz’s grinding down of Grace Norman and George Peasgood over the bike and run segments to win the golds that captured the imaginations of sports lovers around the world.

The Tokyo women’s result had inverted the top two from Rio, where Norman came out on top, and Canada’s Stefan Daniel ran out of road in his bid to halt Schulz’s first golden mission. Now the athletes hit Project Paris for the 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run to glory on one of the most spectacular stages imaginable. For full course information, click here.

With so many of the big names still in the medal hunt in Paris and joined by a raft of fresh talent, it looks like the PTS5 will again make for thrilling viewing from 12.20am on Monday 2 September. Check local listings for details of where to watch.

Steadman, Norman and Cashmore return to the big stage

Their battles over the years have been legendary, and the Brits Lauren Steadman and Claire Cashmore and USA’s Grace Norman will line up once again in Paris to try and outdo each other in the quest for the biggest prize of them all.

As well as the Paralympic prize, the trio have shared the past nine world championship titles between them, their collective vice-like grip over the golds keeping all other aspiring champions at bay. But how will that convert in the pressure cauldron of Paralympic Paris?

The woman who finished with bronze in Rio, Gwladys Lemoussu, will certainly be looking to the home crowds to lift her to those great heights once again, buoyed by silver in June’s WTPS Montreal.

Then there is the athlete who beat her there, Kamylle Frenette, also showing some of the very best form of her career. Still just 28 years old, the Canadian followed fourth in Tokyo with bronze at the 2022 World Championships and will undoubtedly be ready to pounce given even half an opportunity in Paris.

Can Daniel or Hammer hit Schulz’s triple threat?

From Rio 2016 to Tokyo 2020 to Paris 2024, Germany’s Martin Schulz has an enviable Paralympic journey and what could be an incredible hat trick of wins should he defend his title for the second time in the French capital.

Since that successful Tokyo campaign, the 34-year-old has faltered just a handful of times, winning consecutive European titles and wrestling the world title back from Canada’s Stefan Daniel last year.

Daniel will want to complete his Paralympic medals tally after silver in Rio and bronze in Tokyo, and add gold to his impressive six world titles to date. If he can mitigate Schulz’s bike power as much as possible, the Canadian will know that he has the potential to successfully run his rival down over the 5km in Paris.

Brazil’s Ronan Cordeiro also arrives in Paris in rich form after a win in Swansea and bronze in Yokohama, but USA’s Chris Hammer should also be a major challenge for the medals after his recent wins in both Yokohama and Montreal took him up to second in the Paralympic rankings.

For the full start lists, click here.

Six world championship titles, one Paralympic title, France’s Paralympic flag-bearer, Paris 2024 Olympic torch-bearer, Alexis Hanquinquant is the home-town hero ready to take his nation’s capital by storm on 1 September.

Unbeaten in an individual event since the Tokyo Test Event back in 2019, there can be no doubt that he will be the man to beat once again as he seeks to defend his Paralympic title in Paris.

Meanwhile, the PTS3 men’s category will make its Paralympic debut in Paris, with 11 athletes lining up to make history for their class. Included in their number, Spain’s Daniel Molina, a dominant force in PTS3 since his debut in 2012 but up against a field stacked with medal contenders.

The PTS3 athletes will get underway at 09:25am and the PTS4 at 12:25am on Sunday 1 September. Check local listings for where to watch, and course information and the full schedule for the Paralympic Triathlon can be found here.

Alexis Hanquinquant a man on a mission

Now 38 years old, the towering figure of Alexis Hanquinquant taking the tape at the highest level has been a regular sight on the World Triathlon Para Series and World Championships.

Nearly losing his life in an industrial accident, and the eventual loss of his leg three years later, stirred the French star into taking up triathlon and Hanquinquant has flourished since coming to terms with his prosthetic and blade.

Few have been able to touch him in recent years over swim, bike or run. Australia’s Liam Twomey matched him in the water at the 2023 World Championships Pontevedra, compatriots Gregoire Berthon and Pierre-Antoine Baele have been among the closest on two wheels and the run, but it will take something very special to overcome Hanquinquant across all three.

New faces and experienced heads

The USA’s Carson Clough has been among the talents to emerge across the cycle since Tokyo, finishing fifth in his first Continental Championships in 2022 and winning them a year later, defending his title to secure qualification in Miami at the start of 2024. 

Clough took gold at June’s WTPS Swansea, beating Great Britain’s resurgent Michael Taylor into silver, but the Brit will also be on a mission in Paris after scoring WTPS Devonport gold and winning two Para Cups already this season. Australian duo Liam Twomey and Jeremy Peacock will also be vying for the medals along with Croatia’s Antonio Franko and Spain’s Nil Riudavets Victory

Molina leads line for PTS3 Paralympic debut

With more than a decade racing on the circuit, Daniel Molina (ESP) will relish his first shot at a Paralympic gold. Beaten in just three outings since 2017, the most recent of those was, in fact, in his last race, where German Max Gelhaar – 25 years Molina’s junior – delivered an impressive bike through the Swansea streets to earn the gold.

Knowing that Molina’s run could well be the differential once again, the swim portion could prove hugely significant for whoever is able to adapt to conditions the fastest. Netherlands’ Nico Van Der Burgt is one of the few who can match the Spaniard’s swim power and he will be looking to carve out a meaningful advantage over the 750m in the Seine and hold on for what would be a spectacular win.

Cedric Denuziere of France and newcomer Henry Urand (GBR) will also be looking to fire up a big performance, Korea’s double-amputee Hwang Tae Kim will want to leave his inimitable mark on the French capital.

For the full line ups click here.

The rise and rise of USA’s Kelly Elmlinger in one of Para Triathlon’s most hotly contested categories meets a new challenge at Paris 2024, when five athletes from the PTS3 category will be ‘classing up’ to join their PTS4 peers in the chase for Paralympic gold on 2 September.

The merging of the two is a result of the smaller pool of female PTS3 athletes, France’s Elise Marc spearheading the group along with Kenia Yesenia Villalobos Vargas (MEX), Cassie Cava (IRL), Anna Plotnikova (AIN) and Rachel Watts (USA). With the physical impairment to racing decreasing the higher the number, these five know well that the task ahead will be as big as the stage itself to challenge for honours, but if ever there is a time to make history, then it is at the Paralympic Games.

There was no women’s PTS4 category on the programme at Tokyo 2020, so Elmlinger herself had to class up to have a chance of racing at her first Games. Her seventh place there stands as an indicator of the challenge ahead for the PTS3 athletes, facing a determined American who remains unbeaten since the start of 2023.

The action begins at 12.40pm on Monday 2 September, check local listings for details of where to watch and click here for the course details and full schedule.

Elmlinger ready for golden glow

There can be no doubt who was the standout star of the PTS4 qualification period, with Elmlinger scoring seven wins out of seven, securing the maximum 1800 points, the Paris Test Event among that untouchable gold medal run. A two-minute win margin over Spain’s Marta Frances Gomez in Yokohama and just over a minute over Megan Richter of Great Britain in Montreal underline the American’s current dominance, but newcomer Richter could be a serious threat.

Arriving on the scene in 2018 after a successful international Para Swimming career, Richter has only raced consistently at the top tier of triathlon since the start of 2024. A hat-trick of Para Series silvers in Devonport, Swansea and Montreal mark the 23-year-old out as a major contender on Paralympic debut in the sport if she can carve out enough of a lead in the water to blunt Elmlinger’s searing run potential.

Young guns set to seize their opportunity

Another young torpedo in the water this year has been USA’s Emma Meyers. Still just 18-years-old, Meyers was the only athlete able to match Richter in the Montreal swim, while Australia’s 17-year-old Grace Brimelow is another young talent for whom the experience of Paris as a building block to LA 2028 is likely to be as valuable as the position she crosses the finish line.

The Spaniard Marta Frances is a strong swim-biker who will also want to set an early pace just as she did in WTPS Yokohama in May before being reeled in by Elmlinger, and former World Champion Hannah Moore’s return to racing has shaken things up, arriving in Paris off the back of a Para Cup win in Samarkand and Series win in Swansea at the end of June.

For the full start list, click here.

For the world’s PTS2 athletes hoping to realise their Paralympic medal ambitions, there have been some significant hurdles on both sides of the gender fence in the two editions of Paralympic Triathlon to date.

On the women’s side, it has been the dominance of an exceptional trio of US athletes that’s has hamstrung wider efforts to podium. Allysa Seely, Hailey Danz and Melissa Stockwell have claimed five of the six medals between them in the category’s Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 outings, just Veronica Yoko Plebani able to halt their charge with bronze in Tokyo.

On the men’s side, the PTS2 athletes didn’t feature on the programme in Japan, leaving another American, Mohamed Lahna, as the only previous medallist from that historic Rio debut to make a Paris start line that is thick with hungry medal contenders.

The men and women will line up at 9:30am and 9:35am CEST respectively on Monday 2 September. Course information can be found here, check local TV listings for details on where to watch.

Seely eyes momentous threepeat

50 seconds is all that has separated compatriots Allysa Seely and Hailey Danz in the past two editions, the former superior over the 5km run, the latter over the 20km bike.

But it was Melissa Stockwell who secured her qualification at the all-important US selection event of the 2024 Continental Championships, Danz in second, leaving Seely reliant on a Bipartite invitation to defend her titles. Back-to-back Series wins in Swansea and Montreal suggest the 35-year-old is back in the form that could earn a third win at the highest level. Consecutive silvers for Danz will keep her hunger for gold burning.

It was the Italian Plebani who scored a brilliant bronze in Tokyo, the pinnacle of her rise to form in 2021 after four years in the sport bringing her run up to the level of her rivals. Excellent on the bike and strong in the water, she will want to deploy the best of both to be in medal contention over that final 5km.

Making her Paralympic Triathlon debut and equally ready to podium will be Australia’s Anu Francis. Silver in Yokohama in May to go with her World Championship silver in 2023, the Paris Test Event winner has arguably the best bike in the PTS2 business and that could help carve out a critical advantage just as it did last year in the French capital.

Ribstein chasing home gold glory

The men’s PTS2 is just as difficult to predict, the start list thick with talent, not to mention world titles and Series wins. The fact that the past four World Championships have been claimed by French legend Jules Ribstein puts him firmly in the ‘favourite’ bracket, but doesn’t tell the full story.

An excellent swim-biker and one of the fastest runners on the block, there are plenty around the 37-year-old who will be heading into Paris just as confident, albeit not likely to be on the receiving end of the same levels of crowd encouragement through the streets of his capital city.

Among them Mohamed Lahna, who tops the Paralympic rankings thanks to World Championship silver last year and Series wins in June in Swansea and Montreal to take the in-form label. Conversely, Ribstein’s starts have been confined to two Para Cup wins since Pontevedra, while it was Netherlands’ Maurits Morsink who took the Test Event honours last summer over a duathlon format that he stamped his authority on over the opening 2.5km run.

Settling for silver behind Lahna in Swansea after running out of course, Morsink will look to detonate his run power on the Paris streets, while another American, Mark Barr, has made a splash on his return to the sport in 2023 and will be a threat just as he was in Rio 2016, finishing just 16 seconds off the medal places.

For the full start lists, click here.

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Triathlon course is a beast. From the River Seine swim to the split transitions onto a fast, iconic and cobbled bike down the Champs-Elysees to a run courses lined with thousands of screaming fans, the French capital will provide the ultimate backdrop for the 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run to the Paralympic medals.

On Monday 2 September, the athletes will go out from 08:15am in the hunt for glory. Here’s our breakdown of when to watch and what to expect:

08:15am Start PTWC1 Men (PTWC2 wave +3mins)
08:20am Start PTWC1 Women (PTWC2 wave +3m38s)

09:25am Start PTS3 Men
09:30am Start PTS2 Men
09:35am Start PTS2 Women

12:00am Start PTVI1 Men (PTVI 2/3 +2m41s)
12:05am Start PTVI1 Women (PTVI 2/3 +3m11)

12:20am Start PTS5 Men
12:25am Start PTS4 Men

12:35am Start PTS5 Women
12:40am Start PTS4 Women

The Swim

The one-lap swim has a pontoon start on the western side of the Ponte Alexandre III bridge, the athletes either diving off it or holding onto it depending on the race category. The current will be with the athletes from there to the first buoy, against them in a tough stretch back towards the ramp and transition.

Tactics are likely to be crucial here as the athletes look to take full advantage of the water speed on the way out and mitigate it as much as possible on the way back, likely by sticking to the far right of the course as we saw during the Olympic Games and cutting in towards the exit ramp at the latest possible moment.

Athletes will then climb the ramp, gather themselves and assess their rivals’ positioning, before hitting the first transition on the south side of the river, with only T2 situated on top of the Pont Alexandre III.

The Bike

Once onto or into the bikes and handcycles, there’s a 1.5km junction up the ramp and onto the main bike course. Each of the five main laps is 3.7km long, heading back over the Alexandre III bridge and past the grandstands, down the Champs-Elysees then a dead turn back towards Avenue Montaigne and over Pont des Invalides back to the southern side of the Seine before a right along the Quai d’Orsay and then another 180 back towards the grandstands.

The combination of asphalt and cobbles will heighten the challenge and the need for full concentration across the entire 20km, the forecast for dry weather helping make for good biking conditions.

The Run

The fifth lap completed, the athletes hit transition this time on the Alexandre III, where the bikes must be racked and then it is shoes on or into the racing wheelchairs for the 5km run to Paralympic glory.

This time, the athletes will head right straight out of transition to begin an 1100m junction section that takes them back over the river via the Pont de la Concorde and joins the main run course down St Germain Boulevard and back along Quai d’Orsay before heading back to the grandstands at the end of the third and final lap to the finish line.

There was heartbreak and there was ecstasy on the run as the women’s field of the World Long Distance Championship battled for gold. Faced with a technical course, Julie Iemmolo (FRA) seemed to have taken a leaf from the famous song by The Commodores (“Easy”) for much of the race as she made her efforts look easy like a Sunday morning. Having led from the first strokes of the swim, she had dominated the event. But then, a wonderful run by Charlène Clavel (FRA) turned the race on its head as she came roaring back to win the gold. “I am very happy, I wanted to win,” said Clavel. “Today I had the best run and I’m very happy.”

For her part, Iemmolo said afterwards, “I’m pretty happy with this race. I think I raced the way I love to race, being in the front the maximum. I tried to hold the lead during the bike and then during the run but today it was only half of the run, so a little bit disappointed but very happy to come back home with a medal. I really like this bike course: more technical with lots of turns and turnarounds. We don’t see this very often in long distance races. Before I moved up to long distance I was a short distance athlete so it reminds me of the races I did before.”

Having earned an initial lead of 1:50 after the first lap of the swim, Iemmolo extended her advantage to over 3 minutes by the end of the 3km in the water. Marta Lagownik (POL), the European champion, was the next woman out but Iemmolo had already disappeared up the road. Marion Legrand (FRA), the dual world champion in the Duathlon and Duathlon Mixed Relay, lost time in the water but was expected to make it up on the bike. However, it was not to be as Legrand withdrew early during the bike.

Clavel hopped past Lagownik early on the bike however the gap to Iemmolo did not come down. At the end of the first bike lap, the first of three, Iemmolo held a lead of 4:08 over Clavel. For the entirety of the 114km, that margin remained more or less the same. Lagownik followed while Ai Ueda (JPN) and Emily Donker (AUS) were further back.

Katherine Gillespie-Jones (AUS) then made a move on the second lap, passing Donker and Ueda. The three leaders, though, were a cut above. Heading into the final bike lap, Iemmolo led by 4:29 while Lagownik was 8:32 down and had work to do.

By the time the bike came to an end and attention turned to the run, the temperature had risen considerably. Yet it was Clavel that brought the heat. She ate into Iemmolo’s lead on the run and the deficit stood at 2:32 after the completion of the first lap. Iemmolo had looked in control for so long but with 18km left to run Clavel’s speed posed a real threat.

At the first run checkpoint of the second lap, the gap had dwindled to 44 seconds. Then Clavel found another gear. She blew past Immeolo and grabbed a 30 second lead by the next checkpoint. Meanwhile, Lagownik had also started to reel in Iemmolo and with a lap to go the difference between them was only 9 seconds. The swing in momentum proved irreparable and Clavel won in comfortable fashion. Lagownik then passed Iemmolo to notch the silver medal while Iemmolo’s stoic effort yielded the bronze.

Lagownik’s effort also turned heads for it was her first true long distance race. “It was a tough race for me,” she explained. “It was a first long distance for me today so I am so excited that I am 2nd at the world championship! I am so, so exhausted! I was 2nd in the swim, about 3 minutes after 1st. And then on the bike I tried to push hard but the French girls are so, so strong. I tried to keep pushing and hold the same gap. Then on the run I tried to have the same pace every kilometre and the most important thing in long distance is to have the last 10km the same pace and I think I was more or less the same pace.”

After a World Multisport Championships packed with action, this final event, with its late twist, truly proved the icing on the cake.

The sun had only just risen when the men’s event at the World Long Distance Triathlon Championships got underway and by the time much of Townsville had fully awoken and checked out what was happening outside they would have discovered a treat of a race.

A tightly bunched front pack of men stuck together in the first lap of the swim with six men covered by 10 seconds. At the end of the 3km, Johnathan Dolan (USA) was the first to emerge. Charlie Quin (AUS) was the next to make the run up the beach to T1. Antonio Benito Lopez (ESP), the European champion and silver medallist from the World Long Distance Triathlon Championships from 2023, was fifth out of the water and only 10 seconds down.

With Steven McKenna (AUS) and Dylan Magnien (FRA) for company, a front group of five consolidated itself at the start of the 114km bike. Quin and Benito were still there but Dolan slipped back. Benito had clearly learned from his experience at the 2023 edition in Ibiza. Although he out-ran the winner, Clement Mignon, by 1:13 that day, he had to settle for silver after losing well over 2 minutes on the bike. In Townsville, Benito was evidently determined to stay with the leaders on two wheels.

The pack reshuffled on the first lap of the bike while Aichlinn O’Reilly (IRL) moved into the lead. Meanwhile, in the train behind, Matt Burton (AUS) made up almost 2 minutes over the first bike lap after losing over 5 minutes in the water.

The leaders were watchful as they headed out onto the second lap and the segment on the supercar racing track brought a few more turns and technical tests. It was at this time that the Perth-based Irishman O’Reilly dropped back but he soon recovered to rejoin the leaders. Behind, Burton and Louis Naeyaert (BEL) were flying. At the fourth turn on the second bike lap they had whittled the lead down to around 2:17. The leaders punched back, though, and after the second of the three bike laps their gap to the chasers stood at 2:32.

At the start of the third lap, the pendulum swung the other way. Benjamin Hill (AUS) was also with the Burton-Naeyaert axis and the trio brought the gap down to 2:09. Their rate of progress made it look like they were on course to almost catch the lead quintet by T2, thereby creating an eight-man race for gold. Up ahead, the leaders went through a sea of green as they started to share the course with those taking on the age-group events, of which there were plenty of home athletes.

McKenna dropped the hammer during the second half of the final bike lap. On the day after his birthday, he was hunting for the perfect present to himself. Sensing the danger, Magnien closed the gap, bringing Benito and Hill with him, but O’Reilly slipped behind again, this time for good. With the work of the leaders, the gap to Burton, Hill and Naeyaert stubbornly remained over 90 seconds.

Benito led into T2 and held the cards. McKenna had a slow transition whereas Magnien took up the lead but Burton, Naeyaert and Hill a smidge under 90 seconds behind. Burton had to take a moment to stretch in transition, indicating it was not to be his day.

Benito and Magnien pulled away in the early stages. With 30km of running, everything was on paper still very much open but Benito promptly slammed the door shut on his rivals. At the end of the first run lap, he led McKenna by 28 seconds and held an advantage of over a minute on Quin and Magnien. From there Benito only extended his lead. He quelled any final resistance from McKenna and ensured he held a lead of at least a minute over everyone in the field.

The second lap also saw Naeyaert make his move and pass Hill and Magnien to take provisional 3rd on the road. The race was all about Benito, though. As he rounded onto his third and final lap, this time a shortened loop of 6km, he looked fantastic. The win was all but secured and now the Spanish athlete faced a victory lap.

After 5 hours of near faultless racing, Benito duly won to improve upon his Ibiza silver. McKenna took the silver medal for a belated birthday present to himself while a thrilled Naeyaert crossed next to seal the bronze.

What they said:

Benito: “Last year I was 2nd place in Ibiza and this year the objective was to win so I’m very happy.” Regarding the run that sealed his victory, he said, “I started very fast and on the last lap there was a lot of wind. But I was in 1st place and I tried to keep going and I won.”

McKenna: “I’m very proud. It was a well-paced day, I think I paced it perfectly and it was the best I had but Benito was just too good for me. I just think the bike dynamics where everyone did a bit of work played into my tactics.”

Naeyaert: “This year every race I’ve had was the best race ever and today again I did my best race ever. I’m so happy. In the first km on the swim I got into the front group but then after the first turn I had to let them go. I swam solo for the rest of the swim so the first kilometres on the bike were very hard riding solo and chasing the front pack. But the two Aussies, Hill and Burton, were coming closer and then we worked together to keep the pace high and got closer to the front pack. Then I knew I had a strong run to finish and it was just about keeping my pace from start to finish.”

The final race of the Townsville World Multisport Championships is upon us and it is the big one, or rather we should say it is the long one. Tomorrow the elite men’s and women’s fields, as well as an array of age-groupers, will contest the Long Distance Triathlon World Championships over distances of 3km in the water, 114km on the bike and finally 30km on foot. Notwithstanding a couple of bumps on the bike and run, the course is extremely fast. Should the athletes also receive the sea conditions seen on all days except the World Cross Triathlon Championships, the swim should likewise place no limit on a swift race.

In the elite races, several athletes that have already tasted success in Townsville will be starting. Up against them will be a host of rivals that have put all of their chips on this one race. A pair of fascinating battles should therefore be in store and in this article we look at some of the key names to note.

Elite women

Marion Legrand (FRA) currently stands as the most successful elite athlete in Townsville. She won the World Duathlon Championships and then struck gold again in the Mixed 2x2 Duathlon relay. She thus will be hunting the hat-trick in the Long Distance Triathlon. Notably, her cycling skills set her apart in the Duathlon but the longer format will provide a different test altogether. Meanwhile, Ai Ueda (JPN) is another to have already enjoyed a fruitful trip in Townsville after her superb anchor leg helped Japan to the bronze medal in the mixed relay. Ueda is no stranger to the longer distances either and so could be a challenger.

Foremost among the fresh faces is Marta Lagownik (POL). Lagownik is the European champion over this format. Moreover, she is ranked number 1 in the Long Distance world rankings. The signs, then, point to her being the favourite. Elsewhere, Julie Iemmolo (FRA) returns to the World Triathlon scene after an absence of a few years. She used to race on the World Cup circuit before moving up to the longer formats. With a good race, she could get one over her compatriot Legrand. Similarly, Misai Tanaka (JPN) is the Japanese champion over the longer distance and will look to take down her illustrious teammate Ueda.

Elite men

In the men’s race, Ondrej Kubo (SVK) wears number 1 and finished 7th in this event at the European Championships earlier this summer. Joining the Slovakian athlete will be Antonio Benito Lopez (ESP), the reigning European champion. Benito was in fantastic form on his way to the gold in Coimbra and finished 2nd at the 2023 World Long Distance Championships in Ibiza. Expect him to feature prominently as he hunts a third elite gold medal of these championships for Spain.

Benito’s predecessor as European champion, Louis Naeyaert (BEL), will also be racing. Should he perform at his destructive best, Naeyaert could tear the field apart. Turning to the home team, Matt Burton (AUS) has enjoyed success at the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 levels and, as possibly the strongest cyclist in the field, may be one to watch.

Catch all the action live on TriathlonLive with the men’s race starting from 06:30 (AEST) and the women’s from 06:33 (AEST). You can also stay up to date with all the latest developments from Townsville across all World Triathlon channels.

The story of European success at the Townsville World Multisport Championships as Maryna Kyryk (UKR) claimed Ukraine’s first elite gold medal of the event. On a beautiful, clear morning, Kyryk was simply too strong for her rivals in the women’s aquathlon.

“The sun was great,” she said at the finish. “I am very happy. I didn’t expect that before the race as it’s the first time I’ve done this format - run-swim-run - so before the race I really was excited and didn’t know what to expect, but I liked it. I did my best and I’m really happy I won.”

The aquathlon followed the run-swim-run format with a 1km sea swim sandwiched by 2.5km runs. In the opening run, Kyryk led the way. She clocked 8:21 to enter T1 first with Kelsey Mitchell (AUS) breathing down her neck. A superb transition saw Claire Spicknall (AUS) assume the lead as a front pack of five made the run down to the beach.

It was in the water that Kyryk dominated. She swam away from her fellow leaders and opened up a 20 second with her split of 12:58. Spicknall, still only a junior athlete, was the next fastest in 13:18. With her lead secured, it was a simple matter for Kyryk to produce a clean final run, which she duly did.

Further back, Mitchell had to recover from a slightly slower swim and had Spicknall in her sights. As the two Australians battled, Mitchell dropped a field-leading split of 8:42, some 3 seconds faster than Kyryk’s effort. However, it was ultimately not enough. Spicknall held on for a fantastic silver medal. After the race, Mitchell was then disqualified. She had received a penalty for putting on her swim cap before arriving in T1 and did not serve it before the end of the race. As a result, Klara Mooney (AUS) was promoted to 3rd place and received the bronze medal.

In addition to her senior silver medal, Spicknall became World Junior champion too. Later on, Isla Watson (AUS) won the World U23 title.

The shortest event of the Townsville World Multisport Championships took place this morning with the aquathlon and Spain’s Kevin Tarek Viñuela Gonzalez (ESP) came out on top. The race was made up by a first run of 2.5km, a 1km swim, then a final 2.5km run and it was Viñuela’s speed late on that proved the difference and allowed him to hold off his rivals.

After the race he said, ”I’m very very happy (to be world champion). I have completed the triple: Spanish champion, European champion and world champion. I’m very happy to win in the original format: run-swim-run. I prefer this format.”

In the opening run, there was not a huge amount of separation between the leaders. Luke Bate (AUS) led the front pack into T1 with his goggles dangling around his neck. Cristian Fernandez Nieto (ESP), the defending world champion, was well placed in the pack, as was Viñuela.

In still conditions, the Spanish duo made their move in the swim. They out-split the other seven men in the lead group by the best part of 20 seconds. Šimon Koblížek (CZE) actually managed to clock a similar split, however he had already conceded significant time in T1. Viñuela was the better of the two Spanish athletes in T2 as Fernandez struggled. Meanwhile, Bate led a pack of Australians trying to make up the ground.

Over a rapid final 2.5km, Bate charged ahead. His split of 7:15 was the fastest of the day by a full 10 seconds and was enough to see him past Fernandez. Viñuela, however, kept himself out of reach and won by 3 seconds.

“It’s fun doing it in the morning rather than in the heat of the day,” said Bate in the aftermath. “I think it was Fernandez that had an issue in transition (T2) which brought him back towards me and gave me someone to chase and I was trying to catch up to the leader but I just didn’t have it in the end.”

Fernandez then commented, “I am very happy with the result. Kevin was the strongest. I am very happy with this format as I’ve never had an aquathlon as here.”

In the same race, Joel Lange (NZL) took the U23 title and Joel Offord (AUS) claimed the junior crown.

Thus far in Townsville, there has been plenty of European success. France claimed gold medals in the elite women’s duathlon as well as the mixed 2x2 duathlon relay. Neighbouring Italy stands atop the leaderboard with double the number of elite golds after coming away with male and female triumphs in both the men’s and women’s cross triathlon and cross duathlon events. Meanwhile, Spain has taken a solitary elite gold through Javier Martin Morales in the men’s duathlon. With the arrival of the aquathlon, though, the Spanish team will be favourites to add another victory.

The aquathlon is scheduled to take place as a run-swim-run made up of distances of 2.5km, 1km and 2.5km, respectively. In the event that the water temperature drops below 22 degrees Celsius, an unlikely prospect given the sea in Townsville at this time of year, the format will change to a 1km swim followed by a 5km run. Read on to find out who could contend for the medals and in particular what to look out for from the male Spanish favourites.

Elite men

Kevin Tarek Viñuela Gonzalez (ESP) will be confident when he steps onto the Townsville beach for the man wearing the top number arrives at the reigning European aquathlon champion. In addition, Viñuela logged three top-15 World Cup finishes in 2023. He finished 13th in Karlovy Vary and Valencia and placed 11th in Tangier. As such, he is a well-credentialed competitor and will be one the favourites for the win.

However in Cristian Fernandez Nieto (ESP) he faces the defending world aquathlon champion. Five years ago, Fernandez won the age group world title in aquathlon in Pontevedra (25-29) and now he hopes to secure another gold medal in the elite event. One question mark lingering over him, though, is that he has no international results in 2024. Either way, with the double punch of Viñuela and Fernandez, chances are Spain will come out on top.

Nevertheless, it is no guarantee that Spain will win. Luke Bate (AUS) goes again after competing in the duathlon event last week. Moreover, Šimon Koblížek (CZE) will be another to keep an eye on.

Elite women

The women’s aquathlon field will be a little on the thin side. There are only three senior women scheduled to contest the elite race: Maryna Kyryk (UKR), Louisa Marie Middleditch (SIG) and Chloe Dooley (GBR). As a result, there will be an opportunity for one of the junior athletes starting to spring a surprise on their more senior counterparts.

Of the more established starters, Kyryk is possibly the favourite. She finished 9th at the European Aquathlon Championships earlier this year but came away with the silver medal at the 2023 iteration of that race. To go with that, she won bronze at the 2022 World Aquathlon Championships and also has experience at the World Cup level in triathlon. For example, she competed at the indoor event in Lievin back in March of this year. On balance, then, Kyryk looks to be the woman to beat.

Stay up to date with all the stories of the aquathlon events in Townsville, from elite to age group, across all World Triathlon channels.

There are only so many times in life one can travel to Australia and for Marta Menditto (ITA) it would have been understandable had she succumbed to the temptation to spend her remaining days in Townsville enjoying the beaches, fauna and other delights on offer over racing again before returning to Europe. After all, she had already claimed the cross triathlon world title and had thus secured what she had come for. Menditto, however, was not ready to wind down. She set aside the many distractions of her locale and came away with another gold medal with a professional display at the World Cross Duathlon Championships.

Menditto held a slender lead into T1 with a trio of Kristina Lapinova (SVK), Carina Wasle (AUT) and Hannah Young (AUS) hot on her heels. Maeve Kennedy (AUS), the bronze medallist in the world cross triathlon, had work to do after arriving in transition a minute behind the leader. She did not panic, though, and managed to pick off all athletes ahead except Menditto. The Italian athlete was a class apart on the mountain bike trails. She clocked 1:00:04 for the 20.5km course and would arrive in T2 with a lead of over 90 seconds.

After logging the fastest first run and fastest bike, Menditto did not complete the sweep with the top second run split but it did not matter. She was able to enjoy the final stretch along the beach before turning onto the blue carpet and sealing a second world title of the week. “My main goal was the triathlon,” she said afterwards. “The third run is always brutal when you arrive after the first run and the bike. I felt so bad on the bike - maybe I was efficient again - so I’m really happy to win again.”

With a big push in the final stages, Lapinova managed to pass Kennedy on the run. The Slovakian athlete’s split of 14:20 was the fastest of the field by 37 seconds and none of the podium ran within 57 seconds of her. Lapinova later said, “I’m really happy I tried the duathlon because I was really poor on the bike in the (cross) triathlon. Today was a better day for me. I managed to stay with the girls and then on the second run I said to myself ‘it’s now or never because you know I’m 40’ and I’m happy I passed the second woman and took the silver.”

Kennedy would then cross to take her second bronze medal of the World Multisport Championships. Shortly after, Laura Gillard (AUS) broke the tape to claim gold in the U23 race and 4th overall.

This was one of the simple days in which the capture of the world title proved more a coronation than a battle. After winning the World Cross Triathlon Championships, Michele Bonacina (ITA) returned to Pallarenda Park to add the World Cross Duathlon crown to his growing collection. He took the lead in the opening run of the day and did not look back from there.

“I’m so happy, said Bonacina after the race. “This one was so hard. Without the swim I knew that there are good runners here so I tried to stay at the front with them.”

Behind Bonacina, who took a 38 second lead into the first changeover, Eric Anel Acosta Tuñon (PAN) and Sebastian Carabin (BEL) were the next quickest in the opening run. Carabin in particular had started well but unfortunately took a wrong turn on the run which put him behind Bonacina. Meanwhile, the bronze medallist at the World Cross Triathlon Championships earlier in the week, Benjamin Forbes (AUS), found himself mid-pack with a deficit of almost 90 seconds to make up to Bonacina. His challenge was a stern one for he had to out-split the race leader by a greater margin than he had in the cross triathlon and then hold him off in the second run having been beaten in the first. Nevertheless, Forbes was very much in the mix for the race for silver.

Up front, Bonacina carved through the mountain bike course like a knife through butter. However, in a slightly unexpected twist, he did not arrive in T2 alone. Carabin had closed the gap on the bike while Forbes had also made up ground with the quickest bike split of the day (48:52) and was a stone’s throw behind. It therefore came to the final 3.5km run to settle matters. Bonacina’s sharpness in transition renewed his lead and he heaped the pressure on his training partner Carabin.

Taking the final run out hard proved a fruitful strategy and Bonacina ran through to take gold and his second world title of the week. His time of 12:14 was a full 25 seconds faster than Carabin and handed him a winning margin of 27 seconds.

Carabin took silver but was a little disappointed in the aftermath. “I made a mistake in the first run lap,” he explained. “It was not the same as the tri course and I turned right and then I had to go back and instead of being first I was last so I had to come back.” Although he caught Bonacina, by the final run “I was already in the red and he was going really fast and I couldn’t follow.”

Forbes then took a second bronze medal of the week. Aside from being satisfied with his performance, he found a novelty of his own in the format. “Coming into it I was pretty excited. I had literally never ridden a bike after a run. I didn’t even do it in training, it’s my first duathlon. So I was really excited to feel the difference with it and I think I prefer it! It says something about my swimming!”

Meanwhile, Ryno Owen (RSA) finished 7th overall and first in the U23 ranks to claim a second World U23 title of the week.

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 also seized 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.