The first Para Triathlon Series event
of 2022 gets underway in Yokohama this weekend, featuring Paralympic gold
medalists from Tokyo 2020 and rising stars hoping to plot a route to Paris
2024.
Once again the 750m harbour swim
transitions into a 20km bike through the city streets, with tight turns around
the Kanagawa government building and in front of the iconic ferris wheel across
the four laps. The run will be a three-lap 5km for all but the racing
wheelchairs, that will take a single lap to the finish.
You can watch the action live and
on-demand over on TriathlonLive.tv.
The men’s PTWC will be an intense
battle for the medals between USA’s Howie Sanborn H1, Australia’s Nic Beveridge
H1, Dutchman Brendan Bischoff H2 and local favourite Jumpei Kimura H1.
Beveridge’s previous best finish here was 4th place in 2019 and he will
certainly be eyeing a first Yokohama medal, Asian Champion Kimura was 5th here
last year and knows he won’t have many better opportunities to land a precious
home gold.
The women’s wheelchair category will
be a straight battle for the podium positions between Brazil’s Jessica Ferreira
H1, Magret Ijdema H1 of the Netherlands and Canadian Leanne Taylor H1. Ferreira
won silver here last year and finished tantalising close to a Paralympic medal,
so will have all the inspiration required for another big performance this
weekend.
It is hard to look beyond another
gold for current World and Olympic Champion Alexis Hanquinquant in the men’s
PTS4 race, though Brazil’s Jorge Luis Fonseca and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist
Hideki Uda (JPN) will look to put the pressure on before the Frenchman finds
his usual impressive run rhythm. The women’s race sees Carmen Gonzalez Sanchez
(ESP) and USA’s Kelly Worrell battle it out for the honours.
In the women’s PTS5 race, the USA’s
Rio 2016 Olympic Champion and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Grace Norman goes in
as favourite, Ukraine’s Alisa Kolpakchy hoping to summon the kind of big
performance that saw her to bronze in Abu Dhabi in November, World Duathlon and
Cross Triathlon Para Champion Cristina Miranda Zambrano makes her WTPS debut.
The men’s PTS5 looks set to be a
gripping contest with Brazilian duo Ronan Cordeiro and Carlos Rafael Viana eager
to build on solid displays at Tokyo 2020, the Paralympic silver medalist George
Peasgood (GBR) also among the pre-race favourites and young Hungarian Bence
Mocsari ready to make an impact.
The women’s PTVI race will boast
Paralympic Champion Susana Rodriguez B1 up against 2019 Worlds bronze medallist
Jessica Tuomela B1, who will have to pile on the pressure during the swim if
she is to prevent the Spaniard’s charge to gold, while a deep men’s field has
USA’s Kyle Coon B1 ready for a big campaign, going up against the likes of
Jonathan Goerlach B3 (AUS) Jose Garcia B1 (ESP) and Anatolii Varfolomieiev B1
(UKR).
The PTS2 men sees Lionel Morales
(ESP) and Mohamed Lahna (USA) go head-to-head with Melissa Stockwell the sole
female in the category and it is another Spaniard, the hugely experienced Kini
Carrasco, taking on Justin Godfrey (AUS) for this year’s men’s PTS3 title.
For the full start lists, click here.
ABOUT WORLD TRIATHLON
World Triathlon is the international
governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of triathlon and all
related multisport disciplines around the world, including duathlon, aquathlon,
cross triathlon and winter triathlon. Triathlon made its Olympic debut in
Sydney 2000, with a third medal event, the Mixed Team Relay, added to the programme
at Tokyo 2020, while para triathlon was first added to the Paralympic programme
at Rio 2016. World Triathlon is proudly committed to the development of the
sport worldwide, with inclusion, equality, sustainability and transparency at
our core as we seek to help triathletes at all levels of the sport to be
extraordinary.
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