The Spanish complex of El Anillo, in Extremadura (Spain), will host the 2021 World Triathlon Aquathlon World Championships in October, along with the World Triathlon Cross Triathlon World Championships on the same weekend in the same location.
International governing body World Triathlon notes that Spain will crown world champions in all categories of aquathlon and cross triathlon, including age-group events, on October 30-31, 2021.
The World Triathlon Aquathlon Championships and the World Triathlon Cross Championship have been part of the World Triathlon Multisport Festival for the past five years. These events were planned to take place in Almere, Netherlands this year. However, due to travel restrictions in the Netherlands, the organisers were only able to go ahead with the long distance and aquabike events.
With the 2021 World Triathlon Duathlon World Championships taking place also in Spain, in Aviles, the following week (November 6-7), there is an opportunity for elite and age-group athletes to compete at three world championship events fewer than 10 days apart all within Spain.
“It is fantastic news that the Aquathlon World Championships will also be held in Extremadura as it adds to the true spirit of these competitions: the concept of the Multisport Championship Festival,” explained World Triathlon President and IOC Member, Marisol Casado.
“Having three world championships in Spain in two weeks brings a great opportunity to athletes from all around the world to discover these two regions of Spain, Extremadura and Aviles, with multiple options for easily connecting both cities.”
The events in El Anillo, in Extremadura, which will also host the Spanish Multisport Championships on the same weekend, will bring together around 1500 participants, with elite, junior and age-group competitions taking place in both cross triathlon and aquathlon.
The waters of Gabriel y Galán reservoir will be the setting for the swimming sections of both events, with the running and cycling paths of El Anillo and its surroundings providing the course for the running and cycling segments.
In a release, World Triathlon noted that it… ‘Wants to thank the organisers and the Spanish Triathlon Federation for being able to step up once again and put in place another world-class event in such a short period of time after Almere announced that they could not host the aquathlon, duathlon and cross triathlon world championships this year.’
All of the events will be run under COVD guidelines approved by the Spanish Federation and World Triathlon, and more details of the calendar, distances and registration process will be announced in the next few weeks.
