Saturday 22 June will see the world of paratriathlon turn its attention to Swansea as the city prepares to host World Triathlon Para Series racing for the third time.
With less than a week to go, athletes, coaches, organisers and spectators are gearing up for a day packed with racing and entertainment at Swansea’s SA1 Waterfront, where the best paratriathletes in the world will go head-to-head.
World Triathlon Para Series (WTPS) Swansea is the penultimate race in which athletes can bank crucial qualification points in their quest to be on the start line at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
This will be the final time top athletes from across the world will compete in Britain before the Paralympics, with plenty of Tokyo Paralympians and Paris hopefuls competing in Swansea.
The day starts at 9am with the British Triathlon Paratri Super Series, where up-and-coming paratriathletes will compete. Participants aged 15+ with a physical or intellectual impairment will have the opportunity to give swim, bike, run a go regardless of experience or classification in the sport.
The elite action starts at lunchtime and sees British athletes such as five-time Paralympian Claire Cashmore, six-time World Champion Dave Ellis and his guide Jack Hutchens, and their fellow Tokyo Paralympians Michael Taylor and Alison Peasgood guided by Brooke Gillies race.
Cashmore and Ellis come into the race having been victorious at World Triathlon Para Cup Besancon last weekend, whilst Taylor already has a win and a sixth place from a WTPS race this year from Devonport and Yokohama.
That same race in Devonport saw Peasgood and Gillies secure silver on Peasgood’s first race back from a maternity break, backing that up with a bronze medal last month at World Triathlon Para Cup Samarkand.
Also returning to the city at the weekend are 2023 medallists Hannah Moore, Oscar Kelly and his guide Charlie Harding, and Mel Nicholls. In the two years of the event so far, British athletes have claimed ten medals on home soil with 13 Brits on this year’s start list.
Matching Peasgood’s silver, Kelly and Harding also came second in Devonport before fourth in Yokohama, whilst Nicholls also placed on the podium in Devonport taking bronze.
Nicholls and Moore both come into the race in Wales having taken victory in their last international race, World Triathlon Para Cups in Yenisehir and Samarkand respectively.
Alongside the elite racing, there will be plenty for spectators to experience, with the Marina Market making a special appearance at the event at the Prince of Wales Dock.
Amongst the many food and drink vendors on the site will be Gower Doughnut Co, Pen Y Waun Farm and Food Anarchy, with Seaglass Jewellery, MC Studioworks and Tello Studios offering gifts and crafts.
Find out more about WTPS Swansea and everything you need to know about spectating at Britain’s premier paratriathlon event at: https://www.britishtriathlon.org/events/major-events/world-triathlon-para-series-swansea.
