ITU today announced the schedule for the 2013 ITU Paratriathlon season. The calendar will cover at least nine cities on five continents, and includes a series of international and continental races.
"Paratriathlon continues to rise in popularity, as evidenced by record high participation at the World Championships in Auckland last year," said ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado. "As we look forward to the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, ITU is dedicated to hosting top-level international paratriathlon events."
This year, each Continental Championship race will also host a Paratriathlon Continental Championship event, with Oceania having recently hosted the first competition of its kind in Wellington. Paratriathletes are also expected to participate in the Paratriathlon Continental Championships in Asia and Africa for the first time ever this season.
Various International Paratriathlon Event races will be held in conjunction with the ITU World Triathlon Series. Similarly, Edmonton will welcome paratriathletes to race while also hosting the ITU Triathlon World Cup and the PATCO Junior Pan American Cup.
Athletes new to the sport of paratriathlon will have five races in which they will be offered official classification from a qualified panel of specialists. Paratriathlon rankings will be updated regularly after ITU races and upon receipt of each National Federation's national championship results.
The paratriathlon season will close with the World Championships in London as a part of the PruHealth World Triathlon Grand Final 11-15 September in what is expected to be the biggest paratriathlon event to date.
Paratriathlon International Events
- April 20: San Diego ITU International Paratriathlon Event, USA (Classification Offered)
- May 12: Yokohama ITU International Paratriathlon Event, Japan
- June 22: Edmonton ITU International Paratriathlon Event, Canada
Paratriathlon Continental Championships
- March 9: 2013 Wellington OTU Triathlon Oceania Championships, New Zealand (Classification Offered)
- April 27: 2013 Subic Bay ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships, Philippines
- May 25: 2013 Agadir ATU Triathlon African Championships, Morocco
- June 16: 2013 Alanya ETU Triathlon European Championships, Turkey (Classification Offered)
- June 29: 2013 Vila Velha PATCO Triathlon Pan American Championships, Brazil (Classification Offered TBC)
Paratriathlon World Championships
- September 13: 2013 London ITU Paratriathlon World Championships, UK (Classification Offered)
(Please note the Paratriathlon event calendar is subject to change.)
