On 1st July 2024, the qualification window for this year’s Paralympic Games will close, putting us a smidge past the midpoint of the window. In this article, we delve into the latest standings in each classification and assess who might be able to stage a comeback in the second half of the qualifying window to book their slot in Paris.
As a reminder, there are 120 slots available for triathletes at the 2024 Paralympic Games of which 54 will be allocated to male athletes and 50 to female athletes. The remaining 16 slots will then be assigned independently of gender based on selection by the Bipartite Commission.
For the most part, athletes earn Paralympic slots for National Federations as opposed to earning them for themselves. The exception is with the Bipartite Commission invitations. These are issued to specific athletes rather than giving extra slots to countries.
At the Paralympic Games there will be six men’s categories (PTWC, PTVI, PTS2, PTS3, PTS4 and PTS5) for which two athletes can qualify from each national federation. There are five women’s categories; the PTS3 race is not a women’s Paralympic event. As such, the 5 highest ranked PTS3 athletes will be added to the PTS4 event (at a maximum of 1 per country). In total, then, the PTS4 event will have 14 athletes while the rest will have 9.
Read on to find the projected qualifiers in every category and who might have to check over their shoulder.
PTWC Men
- Howie Sanborn H1 (1982, USA) 1478.72
- Jetze Plat H2 (1991, NED) 1435
- Giovanni Achenza H1 (1971, ITA) 1420.27
- Geert Schipper H2 (1977, NED) 1402.42
- Florian Brungraber H2 (1984, AUT) 1395.82
- Fathi Zwoukhi H1 (1986, TUN) 1359.06
- Giuseppe Romele H1 (1992, ITA) 1316.25
- Jose Cristobal Ramos Jimenez H1 (1984, ESP) 1236.58
- Louis Noel H2 (1997, FRA) 1187.98
Howie Sanborn leads the way in the men’s PTWC class with 1478.72 points. The reigning world champion, Schipper, is only actually ranked 4th, although he is only 76 points behind Sanborn.
All of the top-9 ranked athletes have the maximum three scores to their names. Two athletes to note are Joshua Landmann H2, who is less than 70 points behind Noel, while World Para Series medallist Nic Beveridge H1 is ranked 11th, albeit with only two scores.
PTS2 Men
- Mohamed Lahna (1982, USA) 1606.25
- Maurits Morsink (1991, NED) 1565.19
- Jules Ribstein (1986, FRA) 1562.5
- Lionel Morales (1973, ESP) 1454.02
- Wim De Paepe (1985, BEL) 1394.62
- Geoffrey Wersy (1991, FRA) 1255.19
- Gianluca Valori (1974, ITA) 1239.76
- Adam Popp (1979, USA) 1194.29
- Stephane Bahier (1975, FRA) 1175.05
- Louis Rolfe (1997, GBR) 1097.33
In the men’s PTS2 category we have the first instance of an athlete falling foul of the two athlete limit for each national federation. Stephane Bahier, highlighted in bold, is inside the top-9. However, as the third French athlete – behind Jules Ribstein and Geoffrey Warsy – he is not in line to qualify through the rankings.
His chances of racing at a home Paralympic Games could therefore be in the balance.
Meanwhile, Glen Jarvis is less than 100 points away from Rolfe and will lead the charge of those trying to break into the top-10.
PTS3 Men
- Daniel Molina (1974, ESP) 1600
- Nico Van Der Burgt (1983, NED) 1520.27
- Cedric Denuziere (1989, FRA) 1492.72
- Max Gelhaar (1997, GER) 1450.45
- Kini Carrasco (1965, ESP) 1258.24
- Justin Godfrey (1974, AUS) 1250.18
- Henry Urand (2002, GBR) 1222.4
- Ibrahim Al Hussein (1988, TRI) 1186.33
- Diego Lardón Ferrer (1994, ESP) 1186.31
- Giovanni Sciaccaluga (1994, ITA) 1184.17
In the men’s PTS3 category, Diego Lardón Ferrer falls into the same trap as Bahier in the PTS2 classification. With two compatriots ranked ahead of him, he is currently in the cold. However, he was already in a scrap to retain his top-9 position as Giovanni Sciaccaluga is only 2 points behind him.
The PTS3 event is one of the older categories in terms of prospective qualifiers. As things stand, Gelhaar and Urand will be the only athletes still under 30.
In terms of potential spoilers, look out for Jeromius Rooi. He may only be ranked 13th with 500 points, but that is because he only has one score to his name. As the African champion, he could have some big results left in him and two more scores could put him into contention.
PTS4 Men
- Alexis Hanquinquant (1985, FRA) 1662.5
- Antonio Franko (1992, CRO) 1485.78
- Nil Riudavets Victory (1996, ESP) 1439.32
- Carson Clough (1994, USA) 1374.17
- Gregoire Berthon (1991, FRA) 1350
- Pierre-Antoine Baele (1992, FRA) 1349.92
- Hideki Uda (1987, JPN) 1258.24
- Liam Twomey (1994, AUS) 1219.72
- Finley Jakes (1999, GBR) 1186.31
- Alejandro Sánchez Palomero (1986, ESP) 1173.73
As one of busiest categories, with almost thirty men competing for the nine slots, the men’s PTS4 race will likely remain alive until the final weeks of the qualifying window.
The apparently unbeatable Hanquinquant is unsurprisingly at the top of the rankings and he will look to defend his Paralympic title this year. However, his compatriots face a fight to qualify for the Games.
Right now, Baele is out due to the national federation restrictions. However, he is less than 1 point behind his compatriot Gregoire Berthon. Look for the two to tussle over the coming months.
Jorge Luis Fonesca (1059 points) and Jeremy Peacock (1012 points) are also within striking distance of getting into the top-10. Both have three scores so will need to improve upon their existing results to climb through the rankings.
PTS5 Men
- Chris Hammer (1986, USA) 1557.69
- Martin Schulz (1990, GER) 1487.5
- Stefan Daniel (1997, CAN) 1486.27
- Ronan Cordeiro (1997, BRA) 1433.06
- Bence Mocsari (2000, HUN) 1386.52
- Filipe Marques (1998, POR) 1335.3
- Ugurcan Ozer (1998, TUR) 1208.54
- Jairo Ruiz Lopez (1988, ESP) 1179.54
- Jack Howell (2004, AUS) 1172.95
The men’s PTS5 event is also one of the larger categories. Luckily for those in the top-9, national quotas have not yet come into play.
Depth will be a major talking point in this cohort as David Bryant (1088 points), Michael Salisbury (1062 points) and Antoine Besse (1059 points) are all quite close to knocking out Jack Howell or Jairo Ruiz Lopez from the top-9.
PTVI Men
- Dave Ellis B3 (1986, GBR) 1600
- Héctor Catalá Laparra B2 (1988, ESP) 1447.5
- Thibaut Rigaudeau B3 (1990, FRA) 1416.7
- Kyle Coon B1 (1991, USA) 1360.87
- Jose Luis García Serrano B1 (1983, ESP) 1301.55
- Owen Cravens B3 (2003, USA) 1292.79
- Oscar Kelly B3 (2001, GBR) 1246.46
- Antoine Perel B1 (1986, FRA) 1232.33
- Sam Harding B3 (1991, AUS) 1167.6
While the world champion, Dave Ellis, dominates at the top of the PTVI classiciation, the race to make the top-9 is extremely tight.
Four men are within 100 points of that crucial 9th place. Of the men chasing, Donnacha Mc Carthy B1 is the closest and is only 10 points away from Sam Harding.
PTWC Women
- Lauren Parker H1 (1988, AUS) 1587.5
- Jessica Ferreira H1 (1987, BRA) 1519.53
- Kendall Gretsch H2 (199,2 USA) 1468.44
- Eva María Moral Pedrero H1 (1982, ESP) 1454.02
- Melissa Nicholls H1 (1977, GBR) 1282.5
- Mona Francis H2 (1990, FRA) 1271.56
- Emelia Perry H1 (1992, USA) 1238.09
- Leanne Taylor H1 (1992, CAN) 1214.89
- Margret Ijdema H1 (1976, NED) 1162.85
At this stage there are eleven athletes with viable chances to take the nine slots in the women’s PTWC rankings. With 40 points or less to close, Brena Osnaya Alvarez H1 or Skyler Fisher H1 will look to bridge the gap to Ijdema. The question is, will they be able to do so?
PTS2 Women
- Hailey Danz (1991, USA) 1562.19
- Yukako Hata (1981, JPN) 1433.06
- Anu Francis (1995, AUS) 1366.56
- Neele Ludwig (1990, GER) 1340.28
- Melissa Stockwell (1980, USA) 1329.89
- Cécile Saboureau (1983, FRA) 1316.25
- Veronica Yoko Plebani (1996, ITA) 1214.95
- Rakel Mateo Uriarte (1975, ESP) 1206.87
- Allysa Seely (1989, USA) 1011.44
On paper, the women’s PTS2 event is fairly cut and dried as there are only nine athletes in the qualification rankings. However, as Allysa Seely is the third American woman in the list, she may throw a spanner in the works. She only has two scores to her name so there is every chance she catches her compatriot, Melissa Stockwell. Still, it will be interesting to see how the category unfolds.
PTS4 Women
- Kelly Elmlinger 1979 USA PTS4 1700
- Elise Marc 1987 FRA PTS3 1435
- Marta Francés Gómez 1995 ESP PTS4 1395.82
- Kirsty Weir 1978 RSA PTS3 1366.25
- Emma Meyers 2006 USA PTS4 1364.34
- Hannah Moore 1996 GBR PTS4 1347.5
- Elke Van Engelen 1965 GER PTS4 1258.81
- Camille Seneclauze 1998 FRA PTS4 1217.53
- Kendra Herber 1985 USA PTS4 1153.21
- Kenia Yesenia Villalobos Vargas 1999 MEX PTS3 1132.65
- Kelly Worrell 1977 USA PTS4 1123.63
- Atalia Nevo 1973 ISR PTS4 1106.26
- Carmen Gonzalez Sanchez 1983 ESP PTS4 1059.34
- Cassie Cava 1991 IRL PTS3 806.15
- Sally Pilbeam 1978 AUS PTS4 801.1
- Hannah MacDougall 1987 AUS PTS4 745.69
- Juaisca Rodriguez 1973 TRI PTS3 329.44
Here’s where it gets a little complicated.
The women’s PTS4 class is made up of 9 PTS4 athletes and 5 PTS3 athletes. There can be two athletes per country in the PTS4 event and one in the PTS3. As such, Kendra Herber and Kelly Worrell are not due to qualify as the third and fourth PTS4 American women.
Hannah MacDougall is the currenly the chaser in the PTS4 classification and will need to overturn a 56 point gap to Sally Pilbeam.
On the PTS3 front, Juaisca Rodriguez the last PTS3 in and actually has fewer points than MacDougall. Given the different classes involved, the points differential there is irrelevant. What matters is that Rodriguez is only 8 points clear of Sanne Koopman of the Netherlands, who is also a PTS3 athlete.
PTS5 Women
- Grace Norman (1998, USA) 1662.5
- Lauren Steadman (1992, GBR) 1557.69
- Claire Cashmore (1988, GBR) 1547.5
- Kamylle Frenette (1996, CAN) 1474.61
- Andrea Miguelez Ranz (2003, ESP) 1325.58
- Gwladys Lemoussu (1989, FRA) 1282.5
- Marta Dzieciątkowska (1998, POL) 1257.38
- Alisa Kolpakchy (1996, UKR) 1126.47
- Monika Belczewska (1994, POL) 1107.48
Petra Lévay of Hungary may only have 772 points yet she only has two scores under her belt. With a strong third score, she could vault intoa qualifying position.
Moreover, Cristina Miranda Zambrano (1049 points) and Emilie Gral (1041 points) are close to making the top-9 too.
PTVI Women
- Susana Rodriguez B1 (1988, ESP) 1647.5
- Francesca Tarantello B3 (2002, ITA) 1497.53
- Anja Renner B3 (1986, GER) 1389.05
- Heloise Courvoisier B3 (1997, FRA) 1336.84
- Chloe Maccombe B3 (1995, IRL) 1318.01
- Anna Barbaro B1 (1985, ITA) 1306.53
- Annouck Curzillat B1 (1992, FRA) 1258.01
- McClain Hermes B1 (2001, USA) 1194.29
- Leticia Freitas B1 (1994, BRA) 1166.62
Finally, the women’s PTVI classification is fairly settled at this stage. Judith Maccombe B3 could join Chloe Maccombe B3 as a qualifier for Ireland. With 1036 points, she is best placed of those outside the ranking to make up the ground.
