See also: Triathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
| Event: | Paratriathlon |
| Games: | 2016 Summer |
| Venue: | Fort Copacabana |
| Dates: | 10–12 September |
| Competitors: | 60 in six events |
| Prev: | inaugural |
| Next: | 2020 |
The paratriathlon competitions at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 10 to 12 September 2016 at Fort Copacabana. Sixty athletes competed across two genders, and six events.[1] This was the first Paralympic Games to feature paratriathlon, one of two new sports (along with paracanoe) added to the schedule for 2016.
The Paralympic triathlon contained three components; a 750m (2,460feet) swim, 20km (10miles) cycle, and a 5km (03miles) run. The competition took the form of a single event between all competitors with no heats. The competition took place across four of the five recognised paratriathlon classifications; both genders competed in the PT2 and PT4 classifications, the PT1 category for men only, where wheelchair athletes used handcycles on the cycling leg, and racing wheelchairs on the run leg, and the PT5 category for women only, where women with visual impairments were assisted by a sighted guide, using a tandem bicycle on the cycling leg; as with other events for blind and visually impaired athletes, any guide did not count as a quota athlete but was awarded a medal as appropriate.
No competition was held in the PT3 classification in 2016.
| + Paratriathlon at the 2016 Summer Paralympics - Classification and events | ||||
| Classification | Description | Men's Event | Women's Event | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PT1 | Athletes with mobility impairments that render them incapable of safely running or pedalling a bicycle. They must have a classification assessment score of up to 640,0 points. Athletes must use a recumbent handcycle during the cycling stage and a racing wheelchair for the running phase of the race. | ● | no women's event was held in this classification | |
| PT2 | Athletes with mobility impairments that have a classification assessment score of up to 454,9 points. Amputees may use approved prostheses or supportive devices during the running and cycling stages. | ● | ● | |
| PT3 | Athletes with mobility impairments such as muscle power, limb deficiency, hypertonia, ataxia or athetosis that have a classification assessment score from 455,0 to 494,9 points. Athletes may use approved prostheses or supportive devices during the running and cycling stages. | no event was held in this classification | ||
| PT4 | Athletes with mobility impairments such as muscle power, limb deficiency, hypertonia, ataxia or athetosis that have a classification assessment score from 495,0 to 557,0 points. Athletes may use approved prostheses or supportive devices during the running and cycling stages. | ● | ● | |
| PT5 | Athletes with a visual impairment. All qualifying levels of visual impairment, IBSA/IPC defined sub-classes B1, B2, and B3, are grouped together in this classification. Athletes must have a sighted guide of the same gender and nationality during the entire race and use a tandem bicycle during the cycling stage. The guide will not be counted towards a quota, but will be eligible to receive a medal. | no men's event was held in this classification | ● | |
In 2016, the field was largely selected on the basis of rankings, although spaces were reserved for the nation represented by the 2015 World Champion in each classification, two host nation athletes, and eight selections from the Bipartite Commission. If host nation athletes qualified using the ITU Rankings criteria, the host nation places were reduced, and awarded instead by the Bipartite Commission.
A National Paralympic Committee (NPC) was allowed to allocated a maximum of two qualification slots per medal event for a maximum total of twelve qualification slots in 2016. Exceptions were made via the Bipartite Commission Invitation Allocation method.
To be eligible for selection by an NPC, athletes had to:
Ten places, not including guides in the PT5 classification, were available for each of the six events, awarded as follows:
| Paratriathlon at the 2016 Summer Paralympics - Qualification | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification event | Number | PT1 | PT2 | PT4 | |
| Men | |||||
| 2015 ITU World Championships 19 September 2015  Chicago | 1 per event | ||||
| 2016 ITU Paralympic Qualification List[2] | 6 per event | ||||
| Host Quota across all 6 events | 0* | colspan="3" | |||
| Bipartite Committee Places[3] across all 6 events | 10 | ||||
| Women | |||||
| PT2 | PT4 | PT5 | |||
| 2015 ITU World Championships 19 September 2015 Chicago | 1 per event | ||||
| 2016 ITU Paralympic Qualification List | 6 per event | ||||
| Host Quota across all 6 events | 1 | ||||
| Bipartite Committee Places across all 6 events | 7 | ||||
| Men's individual | PT1 | |||||
| PT2 | ||||||
| PT4 | ||||||
| Women's individual | PT2 | nowrap | nowrap | |||
| PT4 | nowrap | |||||
| PT5 |