Brighton and Hove Triathlon 2020 have secured the ITU World Championship qualifier for the 2021 World Championships in Bermuda, the only qualifier offering a sea swim.
Due to unprecedented demand the 2019 event sold out early with entries reaching 1,600 competitors.
John Lunt, Race Director, said: “We are honoured to be given the ITU qualifier status in Brighton once again. 2020 will be the fifth year for us, in what is a very important Olympic year.
“The benefit of the Brighton course for the qualifier competitors is that it offers a 5km loop on a wide, two-lane, closed road. The course is flat and very fast and multiple laps allows easy spectator viewing. We are also the only qualifier with a sea swim and the only event with a mass start. What this means for competitors is that they can see who they are racing against from the outset.”
Santi Brage, Chair of the BTF South East Region & Chair of Bri Tri, said: “Increased participation in triathlon is one of the major objectives of the South East Region. In a very short space of time Brighton & Hove Triathlon has proved that a main event in this area has attracted not just experienced triathletes, but also many new people to the sport. I’m delighted this is in our region and I know we will continue to work closely with the event team in order to continue to boost our sport in the area.”
Verity Miles, Age-Group Coordinator for The British Triathlon Federation, said: “Brighton and Hove Triathlon was awarded a Qualifier event as the organisers submitted a bid detailing strong evidence of the positive race experience they can provide. We’re pleased to award them an ITU Age-Group Qualifier for the 2021 World Championships. It is great to see an annual event, which features a draft-legal race and sees hundreds of athletes enter year-on-year.”
Jen Granger, British Triathlon Regional Development Manager, added: “The region is delighted to host a qualifier for the World Championship. This flagship event brings a lot of kudos to the region especially as they are also focussed on introducing multi-sport to children.”
