Triathletes to begin road to Rio 2016 in London

This year’s event will feature a 750m swim, 22.5km bike ride and 5km run, starting and finishing in London’s Hyde Park.

There will be 219 athletes from 30 different countries taking part in the ITU Paratriathlon World Championships on Friday (13 September) in London, Great Britain, on the same course where last year’s Olympic triathlon event was held.

Those numbers showcase the sport’s rapid growth, as last year there were just 109 athletes from 21 countries taking part in the World Championships.

The sport will make its Paralympic Games debut at Rio 2016.

This year’s World Championships will feature a 750m swim, 22.5km bike ride and 5km run, starting and finishing in London’s Hyde Park.

A live stream and live results of the Championships will be made available on Triathlon.org.

Men

The men’s TRI-4 class – for those with an arm impairment or impairment in both upper limbs – will be the most populated, and it includes France’s defending world champion Yannick Bourseaux, who is also a Paralympic nordic skier. He’ll challenge Hungary’s Peter Boronkay for the title, among 37 others, including Cuba’s Jorge Ulises and Mexico’s Garza Cuellar Hernan Dario.

Australia’s Bill Chaffey will look to defend his world title in the TRI-1 class – which is for wheelchair users – while USA’s world No. 1 Matt Perkins will go for gold in the TRI-2 class, for athletes with a severe leg impairment, after having to settle for bronze at last year’s event. The TRI-1 class will also include Great Britain’s Joe Townsend, the double-amputee Royal Marine who was flown into the London 2012 Opening Ceremony via a zip wire.

Italy’s Michele Ferrarin will start as the favourite in the TRI-5 class for athletes with a moderate leg impairment, while his teammate Alberto Ceriani will headline the TRI-6a class for athletes with total visual impairment.

The USA’s Aaron Scheidies and France’s Arnaud Grandjean are expected to duel it out in the TRI-6b class for athletes with a partial visual impairment.

Women

On the women’s side, all eyes will be on the USA’s three-time defending world champion in the TRI-2 class, Melissa Stockwell. The Iraq war hero has garnered unprecedented media attention for a paratriathlete and previously competed in the Beijing 2008 Paralympics as a swimmer.

Her toughest competition will come from her own teammate, Sarah Reinertsen.

Great Britain’s Jane Eagan hopes to defend her back-to-back world titles once again in the TRI-1 class and is coming off both European and national championship-winning performances.

The TRI-3 event will be a four-way battle between Australia’s Debbie Wendt, Canada’s Jennifer Hopkins, Great Britain’s Eleni Papadopoulos and the USA’s Beth Price.

Another host nation athlete, Faye McClelland, will try to defend her world title in her home country in the TRI-4 class, while Israel’s Yulia Chernoy enters the TRI-5 field as the top-ranked competitor.

Brazil’s Marleide Da Silva and Spain’s Susana Rodriguez will headline the TRI-6a and TRI-6b classes, respectively.