 Melissa Stockwell(Photo: Delly Carr / ITU; click to enlarge) |
After the Rio de Janeiro Test Event, all eyes were on paratriathlon. With a showcase of talent and super-human ability, athletes gave the world a small taste of what is to come next summer as the sport debuts in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games.
This weekend, paratriathlon heads stateside to Michigan, USA for the 2015 Detroit ITU World Paratriathlon Event, in which contenders will have another chance to earn Paralympic qualifying points.
Despite not racing at the Rio Test Event earlier this month, USA's Aaron Scheidies will be the one to beat in the PT5 category. Having a hometown advantage, Scheidies, who was born with a hereditary eye condition that left him with a vision impairment, is the reigning 2014 National and World Champion.
Patricia Walsh is another American who is a strong National paratriathlete and is sure to impress this weekend. She won the USA Paratriathlon National Championships in May and was also awarded the bronze medal at the Rio Test Event for the PT5 Women's category.
Great Britain's George Peasgood stunned in Rio when he absolutely dominated in the swim and bike legs. While he ultimately finished sixth in the PT4 category, his impressive skills in the first two disciplines proved that if he can improve in the run he will certainly be the athlete to look out for. Contending Peasgood in PT4 will be Chris Hammer (USA). He took fourth place in Rio, but made podium in last year's Grand Final in Edmonton. He also competes well on home soil, as he won the 2014 USA Paratriathlon National Championships.
On the women's side for PT4, Clare Cunningham for Great Britain has made the rounds this WPE season. Making podium in every race competed in, she took home the gold in WPE Buffalo City in March and has a strong chance of earning another in Detroit this weekend.
The women's PT1 category is going to be a battle between Kendall Gretsch (USA) and Emily Tapp (AUS). Detroit will be the first WPE race that Gretsch has competed in this season, but she without a doubt will have her sights on a podium. She took gold in the Edmonton Grand Final last year, as well as gold in both the 2014 and 2015 USA Paratriathlon National Championships and has been undefeated since May 2014. Tapp however, is the one person who can take gold away from Gretsch as she also is an undefeated athlete, with her most recent win being at the WPE race in Yokohama this year.
Hitting the PT2 category is three leading USA women. Melissa Stockwell is a reigning World Champion and took home the silver medal at the Rio Test Event. She will be sharing the start list with Allysa Seely and Sarah Reinertsen. Seely also raced in Rio and with the bronze medal, but also has earned three other podium finishes this year, including two WPE races (London and Besancon).
