Triathlon in New Zealand is growing at a faster rate than any other sport, now that growth is set to include Paratriathletes with the very first National Championships set down for Wellington on March 13.
Along with all other triathlon age group categories in standard distance racing, the Contact National Triathlon Championships in Wellington will now also govern selection for athletes with a disability to the 2010 World Championships in Hungary this September.
Sport Development Director for Tri NZ Brendon Downey says the move is a logical one for the sport and one that Tri NZ looks forward to.
"The Paralympics is one of the bigger sporting events held in the world and it makes perfect sense for Triathlon to embrace athletes with a disability. Triathlon is a sport for life and does not discriminate based on age, background or ability, it is only right then that we should cater for those athletes with a disability who choose to swim, bike and run.
"We have worked closely with both the ITU Paratriathlon Commission and Paralympics NZ to set the necessary rules and criteria to allow Paratriathletes to compete in our events safely and comfortably. Further to that we look forward to taking a team away to the World Championships each year with the view to bringing yet more medals back home in the Paratriathlon events."
 |
| Rob Matthews at the Gold Coast world champs in 2009 (Photo: Triathlon NZ) |
Once all criteria is met and athletes are appropriately classified they will race against others in the same category to earn spots in Budapest, provided all eligibility criteria is met and the athlete finishes within four hours over the standard distance course.
While Paratriathlon events are specifically for athletes with a physical or visual disability, they will compete alongside their able bodied age group competitors on the same course over the same distance but vie for World Championship selection against others with similar abilities.
The International Triathlon Union (ITU) has hosted Paratriathlon World Championships since 1996 and now has over 800 athletes competing from 43 countries. It is a stated goal of the ITU to get Paratriathlon into the Paralympics for 2016; NZ currently has a representative on that working committee
Last year two Paratriathletes represented New Zealand at the World Championships in the Gold Coast, both athletes coming home with medals. Miriam Jenkins (gold) and Rob Matthews (silver) both proudly wore the silver fern as official members of the New Zealand team.
 |
| Rob Matthews at the Gold Coast world champs in 2009 (Photo: Triathlon NZ) |
Paratriathletes undergo an assessment of function, prior to a national event, where they are classified and a competition class allocated to them which they compete in against others in the same class.
This is vital for those considering entry to the event in that they must be classified prior to arrival in Wellington or indeed for any future Paratriathlon event. Athletes wishing to seek classification should do so by contacting Brendon Downey on the contacts provided below.
There are six categories/classes that paratriathletes compete under, please refer to the following link for details and video footage:
