By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi
The curtain has barely lifted on the 2023 edition in Ibiza but Kiwi excitement is already building for the 2024 World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Townsville.
Organisers have just dropped the competition schedule for the August 14-25, 2024 extravaganza with the 12-day event to include 19 World Championship races across age group, para, junior, U23 and elite categories.
Tri NZ can also now also reveal the majority of the Tri NZ Suzuki Series qualifying events to allow athletes aiming for the Duathlon, Long Distance Triathlon, Aquabike, Aquathlon, Cross Triathlon and Cross Duathlon world Championship races (or a combination thereof) to start planning.
The 2023-24 Suzuki Series qualifiers are:
2023
• Sprint Duathlon – Auckland City Triathlon Club, August 13
• Mid Distance Triathlon (for the Long Distance race in Townsville) – at OxMan, Oxford, November 26 (North Island Qualifier – at Mt Festival of Multisport, January 20, 2024)
2024
•Cross Triathlon – at Challenge Wanaka, February 17
•Cross Duathlon (TBC) – at Challenge Wanaka, February 17
•Mid Distance Aquabike – at Challenge Wanaka, February 17 (North Island Qualifier – Mt Festival, 20th January 2024)
TBC
• Standard Duathlon
• Aquathlon
Blake Miller (Tauranga Triathlon Club) is the first Kiwi qualifier confirmed for Townsville courtesy of his popular victory in the 20-24 Sprint Duathlon race at the 2023 World Triathlon Multisport Championship currently underway in Ibiza.
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A healthy 61 Kiwis are racing in Spain but a much larger team is expected to don the Silver Fern in Townsville with competition during the Tri NZ Suzuki Series likely to be intense as a result given our proximity to North Queensland.
NZL has been allocated 16 slots per age group, per gender and four ‘Special Circumstances’ spots per Suzuki Series Qualifying race. Where there is a secondary qualifier, as per the North Island Mid Distance Triathlon and Mid Distance Aquabike races at the Fulton Hogan Mt Festival of Multisport next January, the spots will be split 12-6 in favour of the main qualifier with two Special Circumstances slots.
Full eligibility criteria can be found HERE (Scroll down the page):
Organisers expect thousands of athletes to descend on Townsville in 13 months’ time.
The Parade of Nations, Welcome Ceremony and Closing Function will all be held in the heart of Townsville on Palmer Street, with check-In, merchandise and the event expo located in Strand Park.
Racing will be split across two venues, with Duathlon, Aquathon, Long Course Triathlon and Aquathon to be based out of Jezzine Barracks, with Cross Triathlon and Cross Duathlon at Pallarenda Park. Both venues are within easy reach of the event hub at Strand Park, with Jezzine Barracks a 15-minute walk and Pallarenda Park a 15-minute drive.
The World Triathlon Multisport Championships made its debut in the World Triathlon calendar in 2017 in Penticton (Canada), a successful event that was followed by Fyn (Denmark) in 2018 and Pontevedra (Spain) in 2019. The event had to be cancelled in 2020 due to the impact of Covid and in 2021 was split in three different locations: Almere (The Netherlands) hosted the Long Distance and Aquabike races, while the Duathlon World Championships were organised in Aviles, Spain, and the Cross Triathlon World Championships took place in El Anillo, Spain.
The 2022 World Triathlon Multisport Championships took in Targu Mures and Samorin, Slovakia.
