USA to Hold Para-Triathlon Nationals

Nearly 70 of the top U.S. para-triathletes will compete at the 2011 USA Para-Triathlon National Championships, which begin Sunday (7 August) in New York.

Athletes will compete in six different categories for spots on Team USA in the 2011 ITU Para-Triathlon World Championships. In order to qualify for the World Championships in Beijing on 9 September, athletes must compete in the national championship wave and cover the Olympic distance course (1.5k-40k-10k) in less than four hours.

The race will be a part of the New York City Triathlon. Competitors will swim in the Hudson River, cycle on Westside Highway and run down 72nd Street toward Central Park.

Defending world champion Melissa Stockwell (TRI-2) is slated to race, along with nine other members of the USA’s national squad.

While Para-Triathlon is not on the programme for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, the International Paralympic Committee approved the sport for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games just last December.