RunnersWeb Triathlon: U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team Qualification Guide

Want to learn more about how U.S. triathletes will confirm their spots for Rio this summer? This guide breaks down the basics of qualification.

Joe Maloy and Greg Billington are on the start list for WTS Yokohama. (Wagner Araujo/ITU)

The triathlon qualification period for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games is coming to a close on May 15, and the final qualification event to determine members of the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team will take place on May 14 in Yokohama, Japan.

How to follow the races
ITU World Triathlon Yokohama will be broadcast live on triathlonlive.tv. USA Triathlon will provide U.S.-specific updates on Twitter via @usatlive, and ITU will provide international coverage on Twitter via @triathlonlive.

The women’s race is slated to start at 9 p.m. ET (10 a.m. local time) and the men will follow at midnight ET (1 p.m. local time).

Following the races, USA Triathlon will announce the athletes who have met the qualification standards and will be nominated to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team. The announcement will be posted on usatriathlon.org, as well as USA Triathlon’s social media accounts.

How athletes will earn a spot on the team
In order to automatically qualify for the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team, an athlete must finish on the podium at World Triathlon Yokohama. The athlete must be the top U.S. finisher on the podium who has not already qualified, and only one spot is available to a podium finisher. If two Americans finish on the podium, only the top finisher automatically qualifies.

The remaining spots on the U.S. team will be filled using USA Triathlon’s Objective Rankings System. Athletes earned points for four events in 2015, and the Yokohama event is the final opportunity for athletes to earn more points as part of the system. Base points will be determined by the ITU Points List points distribution, with a multiplier of 1.066667 applied. The base points totals will not be confirmed until the start of each race.

Note: if any spots remain after the automatic qualification (podium finish), up to one spot per gender can be considered for a domestique (team player). This option may or may not be used to select a member of the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team.

Who is racing

Six men and six women will represent the U.S. at WTS Yokohama.

On the start list for the U.S. men (with current points total in the Objective Rankings System):

Greg Billington, Spokane, Washington (578.400)
Joe Maloy, Wildwood Crest, New Jersey (535.333)
Eric Lagerstrom, Portland, Oregon (394.733)
Ben Kanute, Geneva, Illinois (268.800)
Kevin McDowell, Geneva, Illinois (263.067)
Jarrod Shoemaker, Clermont, Florida (0.00)

On the start list for the U.S. women (with current points total in the Objective Rankings System):

Gwen Jorgensen, St. Paul, Minnesota (already qualified for Rio 2016)
Katie Zaferes, Hampstead, Maryland (1,563.333)
Kirsten Kasper, North Andover, Massachusetts (645.333)
Lindsey Jerdonek, Cleveland, Ohio (249.200)
Renée Tomlin, Ocean City, New Jersey (0.00)
Summer Cook, Thornton, Colorado (0.00)

Complete start lists are available here: elite men | elite women

Sarah True (Hanover, New Hampshire) joins Jorgensen as a 2016 qualifier, but is not competing in Yokohama.

Team quota spots
The U.S. is on track to have three women and three men on its 2016 team. Only eight nations (per gender) will field full teams of three athletes.

The U.S. women have three athletes ranked in the top four of the ITU Rio 2016 Olympic Qualification List — Jorgensen, True and Zaferes — and are guaranteed three quota spots based on this ranking. View the women’s Olympic simulation for country quota spots here (PDF).

The U.S. men are currently ranked sixth in the points race to confirm three country quota spots. Spain is currently ranked No. 1, followed by Great Britain and Australia. Russia and France are also ranked higher than the U.S. as of May 4. The team quota spots will be confirmed when the rankings period closes on May 15. View the men’s Olympic simulation for country quota spots here (PDF).

More information
Visit yokohama.triathlon.org to learn more about WTS Yokohama, including course maps and a complete schedule of events.

For more information on how to get involved in the sport of triathlon in the U.S., visit USA Triathlon’s Gold Map site at usatriathlon.org/goldmap. The Gold Map was launched in conjunction with the U.S. Olympic Committee and NBC to inspire participation in Olympic summer sports by leveraging the excitement that will be generated in the lead-up to and during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games this August.

About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,300 races and connects with nearly 500,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches and race directors on the grassroots level, USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of the ITU and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).