Last call for Paris

How do our fastest Kiwis clip their ticket to Paris ’24? Our qualification explainer unpicks the complex route/s

from the 24 month window and a maximum of eight from the second period (hello Kyle Smith). A maximum of two Conti results can count so expect the racing in Devonport (Oceania Sprint Champs) and Port Douglas (Oceania Standard Champs) this summer to be fierce, ditto for World Cup New Plymouth. The more ranking points secured Down Under now, the better chance of securing points rich WTCS and World Cup starts in Europe later. The Conti Cups in Wanaka and Taupo mightn’t earn Olympic points but they do help athletes climb the pecking order to World Cups and on to the WTCS.

Under the shadows of the Pont Alexandre III bridge on the River Seine, the swim pontoon for the XXXIII Olympiad will feature just 55 start line slots for each of the men’s and women’s individual triathlons in 2024.

Securing one of those coveted Paris starts is a complex global points gathering exercise for New Zealand’s best, complete with a Mixed Relay twist, all of which we’ll unpick here.

For New Zealand to have more than two athletes in either of the individual races, the three (max) would all need to be ranked in the top 30 of the World Triathlon Individual Olympic Qualification Rankings at the May 27, 2024 cut-off. With the first of two qualification periods coming to a close (May 27, 2022 to May 26, 2023) and the current Kiwi rankings outside of Hayden Wilde well south of this, a lot of magic needs to happen in the second period (May 27, 2023 to May 27, 2024) for that to transpire. Fingers crossed.

Points are available at WTCS races, the Olympic test event in Paris (Aug. 1720, 2023), World Cups and Continental Championships events on a descending scale. Sprint races earn 75 percent of the value of standard distance events. Still with us? Good, let’s crack on.

Athletes are able to count up to 12 results

Of course, our athletes can take all the stress out of qualification by being the highest ranked Kiwi on any step of the podium at the Olympic test event, a result which would guarantee Paris selection.

Thereafter, two top 8 placings in WTCS events will please the selectors no end (Hello Wilde already) and if three or more Kiwis achieve this metric, the athlete with the highest placings will likely get a selection nomination forwarded to the NZOC.

From a New Zealand perspective, the Mixed Relay is the most likely avenue to Paris, securing four individual spots (two men and two women) in the process. Thus, the huge focus on July’s World MR Championship in Hamburg.

The winning team from last year’s World MR Championship in Montreal was France. As Olympic hosts, they’re already locked and loaded for Paris ’24 so that spot rolled down to second-placed GBR which means (stick with us here) the highest placed nation in Hamburg, even if they’re third behind either France or GBR, will also qualify.

If NZL can’t snare that spot, the key is to be inside the top six nations in the World Triathlon Mixed Relay Olympic Qualification Rankings at the March 25, 2024 cutoff, discounting France, GBR and whoever takes the third slot in Hamburg. New Zealand are currently 7th heading into critical MR events in Montreal (June 25), Hamburg (July 15),

Sunderland (July 30) and Paris (Aug. 20). Phew, nearly there.

Finally, there’s a last chance MR qualifier for the nine or so countries not already qualified, the venue for which has yet to be announced but will likely be held in March 2024. There, three additional nations will clip their ticket to Paris.

The key Kiwi takeaway from all the above? Race hard, be fast and take the decision out of the selectors’ hands. It’s going to be utterly compelling (hello Triathlonlive.tv)

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