Roadmap for triathlon events at the Paris Games
Roadmap for triathlon events at the Paris Games:
Featured Athletes
–Alex Yee (Great Britain): The silver medalist in Tokyo three years ago and winner of a test event on the Paris course last August, is a former 10,000m runner.
—Leo Bergere, France: No. 1 in the men's Olympic qualifying rankings.
— Dorian Coninx, France: The 2023 world champion has a broken wrist and elbow but said “anything can happen” once the race starts.
—Kristian Blumenfeld, Norway: Reigning Olympic champion.
—Beth Potter, Great Britain: In 2023, the Glasgow native won the Olympic test event and was crowned world champion.
—Flora Duffy, Bermuda: The reigning Olympic champion had been considering retirement due to a knee injury.
—Taylor Spivey, USA: The 33-year-old Californian will be competing in her Olympic Games for the first time.
—Taylor Knibb, USA: Winner of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship two seasons in a row. Has been competing in triathlons since age 11. His mother is a former Ironman competitor.
A story worth following
— How clean is the water? Specifically, the section of the Seine within view of the Eiffel Tower where French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to bathe. The men's and women's triathlons will begin with a 1.5-kilometer (0.93-mile) swim in the river, followed by a 40-kilometer (24.9-mile) bike ride and a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) run. Cleaning up the Seine, which has been polluted for years, is a key legacy goal of these Olympics. Last August's open-water swimming race was canceled due to water quality concerns after heavy rains, but a test event for the triathlon was held two weeks later.
–Don't get in the way of swimmers with your boat. Triathlon made headlines after a chaotic false start in the men's race at the Tokyo Olympics, when a cameraman's boat wandered in front of swimmers about to dive. Some athletes swam 200 meters before hearing the signal to resume.
—The race's picture-postcard route runs from 8 to 10 a.m. Swimmers dive off Pont Alexandre III and complete two laps to the bridge. The bike-runners cycle and run 11 times, past the Grand Palais and along the Champs-Élysées on either side of the Arc de Triomphe. An additional cyclist loop runs along the south side of the river, past the National Assembly, the National Assembly and the Musée d'Orsay.
Key Dates
The men's competition will be held on July 30th, the women's competition on July 31st, and the mixed team relay on August 5th.
Reigning Champion
—Male: Christian Blumenfeld, Norway.
—Woman: Flora Duffy, Bermuda.
—Mixed Team: Great Britain
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
