This article details the qualifying phase for triathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics. The competition at these Games will comprise a total of 110 athletes coming from their respective NOCs; each has been allowed to enter a maximum of three for the first eight NOCs, while the remaining nations are limited to two. All athletes must undergo a qualifying process to earn a spot for the Games through the Continental Qualification Events, the World Qualification Event, and then the Olympic Qualification List that begin on May 15, 2014, and then conclude two years later on the same date.[1]
The winners of each of the five Continental Qualification Events are selected to compete for the Games, followed by the top three finishers at the 2015 ITU World Qualification Event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Thirty-nine athletes for each gender must directly qualify through the Olympic Qualification List as of May 15, 2016, ensuring that the first eight NOCs qualifying for positions are subjected to a maximum of three, and then the remaining NOCs to a limit to two.[2] Host nation Brazil has guaranteed a single place for each gender, while further two berths are made available to NOCs through a Tripartite Invitation Commission. In the end, further five places are distributed to the NOCs without any quota through the ITU Points List.
| width=200 align="left" | NOC ! | width=60 | Men ! | width=60 | Women ! | width=70 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 3 | 6 | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| 2 | 3 | 5 | |||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 3 | 2 | 5 | |||||
| 2 | 3 | 5 | |||||
| 3 | 3 | 6 | |||||
| 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 3 | 2 | 5 | |||||
| 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||
| 2 | 3 | 5 | |||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||
| 3 | 2 | 5 | |||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| 3 | 3 | 6 | |||||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 3 | 6 | |||||
| Total: 38 NOCs | 56 | 56 | 112 |
| Event | Date | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Qualification Event | August 1–2, 2015 |  Rio de Janeiro | |
| June 13–14, 2015 |  Baku | ||
| July 11–12, 2015 |  Toronto | ||
| 2016 Oceania Triathlon Championships | March 19–20, 2016 |  Gisborne | |
| 2016 African Triathlon Championships | March 20, 2016 | East London | |
| 2016 Asian Triathlon Championships | April 29 – May 1, 2016 |  Hatsukaichi | |
| Cutoff for World Rankings | May 15, 2016 | ||
| Re-allocation of unused quotas | June 13, 2016 |
| Event | Places | Qualified NOC | Selected triathlete | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center | 1 | Nicola Spirig | ||
| 2016 African Championships | align=center | 0* | ||
| 2016 Asian Championships | align=center | 1 | Ai Ueda | |
| 2016 Oceania Championships | align=center | 1 | Emma Moffatt | |
| align=center | 1 | Bárbara Riveros | ||
| ITU World Qualification Event | 3 | Gwen Jorgensen | ||
| Non Stanford | ||||
| Vicky Holland | ||||
| ITU Olympic Qualification List (as of May 15, 2016) | 36 | Andrea Hewitt | ||
| Katie Zaferes | ||||
| Rachel Klamer | ||||
| Helen Jenkins | ||||
| Ashleigh Gentle | ||||
| Vendula Frintová | ||||
| Aileen Morrison | ||||
| Annamaria Mazzetti | ||||
| Anne Haug | ||||
| Claudia Rivas | ||||
| Yurie Kato | ||||
| Sara Vilic | ||||
| Ainhoa Murúa | ||||
| Nicky Samuels | ||||
| Mari Rabie | ||||
| Yuliya Yelistratova | ||||
| Margit Vanek | ||||
| Agnieszka Jerzyk | ||||
| Audrey Merle | ||||
| ITU Points List (as of May 15, 2016) | 4 | |||
| Elizabeth Bravo | ||||
| Re-allocation of unused quota places | 7 | |||
| Cecilia Pérez | ||||
| Cassandre Beaugrand | ||||
| Total | 55 | |||