Medal events confirmed for paratriathlon’s Olympic debut
Men’s PT1 and PT4 classes and women’s PT4 class a sure thing for Rio 2016, with British athletes including Phil Hogg and Faye McClelland expected to excel
Three of the six medal events that will be contested in paratriathlon’s debut at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Paralympic Games have been confirmed by the ITU: men’s PT1 and PT4 sport classes, and women’s PT4.
With these categories confirmed, it looks like British paratriathletes should be in a very strong position to challenge for medals; at the ETU European Championships in Kitzbühel recently, Phil Hogg came second in the men’s PT1 category and Joe Townsend came third, while Lauren Steadman won the women’s PT4 category and Faye McClelland took silver.
“Paratriathlon’s addition to the Paralympic programme is going to be a monumental moment for our sport,” said ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado. “As paratriathlon continues to expand drastically each year, we remain committed to evolving with its growing demands and competitiveness. We are hopeful and dedicated to seeing even more medal events contested in Tokyo.”
The ITU together with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) will identify the remaining medal events later this year, with the six medal events to be evenly split amongst genders, meaning that one additional medal event will be assigned for the men, while two medal events will be announced for the women. The IPC will make its final decision on these medal events following its board meeting in October.
Jamie Beach
Former digital editor 
