The men's PT1 and PT4 sport classes have now been confirmed as two of the men's three medal events, while the women's PT4 has also gained a berth in Rio.

PT1 is a category exclusively for athletes in a wheelchair with competitors using a recumbent handcycle on the bike course and a racing wheelchair on the run segment during the event.

PT4 is described by the ITU as a category inclusive of "athletes with comparable activity limitation and an impairment of, but not limited to, limb deficiency, hypertonia, ataxia and or athetosis, impaired muscle power or range of movement that through classification assessment have a score from 495,0 to 557,0 points included."

The decision was made by the ITU in collaboration with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The PT4, or wheelchair, medal event has been added for both men and women for Rio 2016 as the ITU a begins to announce the events for Rio 2016 ©Getty Images



"Para-triathlon's addition to the Paralympic programme is going to be a monumental moment for our sport," said ITU President and International Olympic Committee member Marisol Casado.

"As Para-triathlon continues to expand drastically each year, we remain committed to evolving with its growing demands and competitiveness.

"We are hopeful and dedicated to seeing even more medal events contested in Tokyo."

The final three medal events will be confirmed by the ITU and IPC in the latter's Board meeting in October.

With the six medal events to be evenly split amongst genders, one additional medal event will be assigned for the men, while two medal events will be announced for the women.

Triathlon was added to the Paralympic programme during an IPC Governing Board meeting in Guangzhou, China, ahead of the 10th Asian Para Games in 2010, with the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio the first Games the sport will be a part of.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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