The rise and rise of USA’s Kelly Elmlinger in one of Para Triathlon’s most hotly contested categories meets a new challenge at Paris 2024, when five athletes from the PTS3 category will be ‘classing up’ to join their PTS4 peers in the chase for Paralympic gold on 2 September.
The merging of the two is a result of the smaller pool of female PTS3 athletes, France’s Elise Marc spearheading the group along with Kenia Yesenia Villalobos Vargas (MEX), Cassie Cava (IRL), Anna Plotnikova (AIN) and Rachel Watts (USA). With the physical impairment to racing decreasing the higher the number, these five know well that the task ahead will be as big as the stage itself to challenge for honours, but if ever there is a time to make history, then it is at the Paralympic Games.
There was no women’s PTS4 category on the programme at Tokyo 2020, so Elmlinger herself had to class up to have a chance of racing at her first Games. Her seventh place there stands as an indicator of the challenge ahead for the PTS3 athletes, facing a determined American who remains unbeaten since the start of 2023.
The action begins at 12.40pm on Monday 2 September, check local listings for details of where to watch and click here for the course details and full schedule.
Elmlinger ready for golden glow
There can be no doubt who was the standout star of the PTS4 qualification period, with Elmlinger scoring seven wins out of seven, securing the maximum 1800 points, the Paris Test Event among that untouchable gold medal run. A two-minute win margin over Spain’s Marta Frances Gomez in Yokohama and just over a minute over Megan Richter of Great Britain in Montreal underline the American’s current dominance, but newcomer Richter could be a serious threat.
Arriving on the scene in 2018 after a successful international Para Swimming career, Richter has only raced consistently at the top tier of triathlon since the start of 2024. A hat-trick of Para Series silvers in Devonport, Swansea and Montreal mark the 23-year-old out as a major contender on Paralympic debut in the sport if she can carve out enough of a lead in the water to blunt Elmlinger’s searing run potential.
Young guns set to seize their opportunity
Another young torpedo in the water this year has been USA’s Emma Meyers. Still just 18-years-old, Meyers was the only athlete able to match Richter in the Montreal swim, while Australia’s 17-year-old Grace Brimelow is another young talent for whom the experience of Paris as a building block to LA 2028 is likely to be as valuable as the position she crosses the finish line.
The Spaniard Marta Frances is a strong swim-biker who will also want to set an early pace just as she did in WTPS Yokohama in May before being reeled in by Elmlinger, and former World Champion Hannah Moore’s return to racing has shaken things up, arriving in Paris off the back of a Para Cup win in Samarkand and Series win in Swansea at the end of June.
For the full start list, click here.
