World Triathlon is pleased to announce that the Championship Finals Torremolinos-Andalucía will host the first-ever World Triathlon Para Mixed Relay Championships on 20 October, after two years of the event being delivered at the World Triathlon Championship Finals as a test.
The Executive Board has also approved the award of a separate set of recognition medals to athletes with Intellectual Impairment competing in the Age-Group events at the 2024 World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Townsville, Australia, taking place on 15-25 August.
The Para Triathlon Mixed Relay made its official debut on the World Triathlon calendar as an Open Race at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Finals, with the ultimate goal of incorporating the dynamic new format into the roster of events across all levels, including the Paralympic Games.
The Para Triathlon Mixed Relay upholds similar principles to the Olympic Mixed Relay event that was such a resounding success at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Each team will consist of four Para athletes, two men and two women. Every team member will complete a full super-sprint triathlon (non-drafting): 125-150m swim, 3.5-4km bike, and 0.8-1km run. The team’s total time spans from the commencement of the first athlete to the conclusion of the 4th athlete covering the full distance.
After two years being held as an Open race, and Team Australia winning gold in Abu Dhabi 2022 and Team USA in Pontevedra 2023, the first-ever World Triathlon Para Mixed Relay Championships will take place as part of the World Triathlon Championship Finals Torremolinos-Andalucía next October.
World Triathlon Executive Board has also approved to give recognition to athletes with Intellectual Impairment who have already qualified in the Age-Group events with the full support of the Intellectual Impairment Working Group that has been seeking for opportunities for these athletes alongside World Triathlon or entities such as Virtus and Special Olympics for the last two years. The 2024 World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Townsville will award a separate set of medals to athletes with Intellectual Impairment – even if this impairment is currently not considered under the Para triathlon classification system but is an IPC-recognised impairment.
All athletes wishing to compete at the Townsville Multisport World Championships must meet their National Federation qualification criteria and follow the standard registration process. The Athletes should have qualified for their own National Federation to compete at any of the Townsville Multisport World Championships, and go through the regular registration process.