Triathlon mixed relay: what it is and who will win at the Paris Olympics?

France's Dorian Connix (rear R) crosses the finish line ahead of Britain's Alex Yee (rear L) to win the 2019 ITU World triathlon mixed relay series Tokyo, a test event ahead of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, at Odaiba in Tokyo on August 18, 2019 — Credit: JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images

The popular mixed team relay triathlon format made its much-lauded Olympic debut in 2021 at the delayed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. It was, unsurprisingly, a huge success, and became a highlight of not only the triathlon events schedule but also of the entire Olympic Games.

The narrative was helped in large part by two-time individual medallist Jonny Brownlee winning gold for Team GB alongside teammates Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown – who’d both won silver in the Tokyo individual events – and Jess Learmonth.

That third medal made the younger Brownlee the most successful Olympic triathlete of all time, and also elicited the now infamous line “The Olympics? Completed it.”

So in short, as one of the most thrilling sporting spectacles on the planet, the mixed team relay triathlon event presents another opportunity for countries, and its individuals, to medal in an Olympic Games.

What’s more, the relay follows on from the individual races, where Cassandre Beaugrand won in the women’s race and Alex Yee snatched gold from the jaws of defeat in the men’s event.

How does the mixed team relay triathlon work?

Teams of two men and two women each complete a short-course triathlon (300m swim, 5.8km bike, 1.8km run) before tagging off to their teammate to take over.

The format in Paris will be man-woman-man-woman (it was woman-man-woman-man in Tokyo). With its rapid and unpredictable format, it’s a winner for athletes, spectators and viewers alike.

When is the Paris Olympic Games mixed team relay triathlon happening?

The Olympic Mixed Team Relay event starts at 7am UK time (8am CET time) on Monday 5 August 2024.

How to watch triathlon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games

Who will be in the Team GB mixed team relay for the 2024 Paris Olympics?

Beth Potter and Yee are two of the fastest runners in the sport so their places on the relay team are almost guaranteed, most likely with Potter on the anchor leg as in the Paris test event.

As the only other GB male to be racing the individual event, Sam Dickinson will be the second male in the GB mixed relay team. He has form over the format, and was in the Commonwealth gold-medal winning squad alongside Yee, Taylor-Brown and Sophie Coldwell as well as the GB team that came second in the World Championship in Montreal a month earlier, which qualified them for Paris.

“I’ve been leg three and done it very well at the Commonwealth Games and Hamburg World Series and I’ve been leg one in Napier and put 30secs into the field by ripping it apart,” he explained to 220 at the Team GB kitting-out day in June.

“For leg one the demands are a bit more set because everyone starts at the same time, you can guarantee that everyone is coming out of the swim close together, and if it comes down to a run you need to be able to hand over in a good position.

“On leg three, it might be a solo time-trial, racing in a bunch or having to chase on. I don’t have a preference, I’m just glad I get the chance.”

The final mixed team relay slot will be handed to either Taylor-Brown or Kate Waugh. Taylor-Brown won individual silver and mixed team relay gold (alongside Yee, Jonny Brownlee and Learmonth) at the 2020 Tokyo Games, while Waugh was part of the silver-medal-winning quartet at the 2023 Paris test event (alongside Yee, Potter and Barclay Izzard) in what became a reformatted-duathlon mixed relay.

Speaking to 220 about her selection, Waugh added “I’m just training to put myself in the best contention for the relay. I think I’m a strong relay athlete and have had a lot of success over relays and shown strength individually across swim, bike and run.

“I’m the reigning Super League champion and it’s a very similar distance and race tactics, so hopefully this can be considered when it comes to selection for the relay.”

What are our predictions for Team GB in the mixed team relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics?

There’ll be shocks, scares and surprises in the relay, but by the time it’s done we expect GB to defend the title. Having kept Jonny Brownlee out of the team, the focus will be on Sam Dickinson either on the lead-off leg or leg three, but he’s more than competent to deliver the solid – not spectacular – leg required to keep the team in contention.

Check out our picks for the other medal contenders in the individual and the mixed team relay events here.

About

220 deputy editor Liz Barrett started work on the magazine in 2007 as staff writer. Since then, she’s reported live from almost every major triathlon across the globe, including the Ironman World Championships, 70.3 Worlds, six ITU Worlds, Challenge Roth, the 2014 and 2022 Commonwealths, the London and Paris Olympics and the Rio Paralympics, to name but a few. Name a pro and chances are she’ll have interviewed them, so, unsurprisingly, she’s our go-to pro-athlete expert on the team. When not covering races, you’ll find her whipping words into finely-crafted shape for both the magazine and website.