USA Triathlon, Toyota and the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) have announced that, for the second year, a professional prize purse will be offered for athletes who medal at the Toyota USA Paratriathlon National Championships.
The US$36,750 total purse, to be provided in equal amounts by USA Triathlon, Toyota and CAF, will be presented to the podium finishers in each sport class.
The National Championships will be held on Sunday, July 18, in Long Beach, California, in conjunction with the second running of the Toyota Legacy Triathlon.
The Legacy Triathlon weekend, which runs from July 16-18, will also include the USA Triathlon Aquathlon National Championships, the age-group Toyota Legacy Triathlon, an Open Water Swim competition, and the elite Americas Triathlon Cup Long Beach.
The paratriathlon race will take place at Alamitos Beach, the proposed site of the triathlon competitions for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Los Angeles 2028. Athletes will compete for national titles in six paratriathlon sport classes.
National champions will receive US$1,500 each, runners-up will receive US$750, and third-place finishers will receive US$375. Sighted guides competing alongside athletes with visual impairments will also receive equivalent winnings.
A professional prize purse was introduced at Paratriathlon Nationals for the first time ever in 2019. The 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID-19.
USA Triathlon, with support from World Triathlon and the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee, has played a leading role in professionalizing the sport of paratriathlon, including being the first country in the world to offer prize money for an elite World Triathlon paratriathlon race.
Toyota also continues to support the Toyota U.S. Paratriathlon Resident Team, now in its fourth year at the US Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
“Along with our partners at Toyota and CAF, USA Triathlon is committed to professionalizing the sport of paratriathlon while providing increased exposure and promotion for US athletes,” said Amanda Duke Boulet, Paralympic Program Director at USA Triathlon.
“We are proud to offer a prize purse for the second year at Paratriathlon Nationals, and we hope to add more professional racing opportunities with financial incentive in the years leading into the Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.”
Babbitt, CAF Co-Founder, said “CAF has always been a leader in providing great opportunities for challenged athletes.
“To team up with Toyota and USA Triathlon to create the largest prize purse in paratriathlon history in order to support some of the greatest athletes on the planet is another giant step forward for our sport.”
Toyota is USA Triathlon’s Exclusive Mobility & Automotive Partner and the title partner of the Toyota US Paratriathlon National Team. The company is directly supporting USA Triathlon’s top elite athletes leading into this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, and has shown ‘unparalleled commitment to the organization’s paratriathlon program.’
“Toyota is thrilled to partner with USA Triathlon and Challenged Athletes Foundation to once again award a prize purse to medallists at this year’s Toyota USA Paratriathlon National Championships,” said Dedra DeLilli, Group Manager, Sponsorship, Integration & Activation at Toyota Motor North America.
“The participants competing in this event have overcome incredible obstacles in their pursuit of becoming elite athletes, and as a company committed to inclusivity through mobility, it’s important they are recognized for their achievements. We’re passionate about helping increase awareness of the sport of paratriathlon and look forward to watching the athletes compete.”
Prize purse recipients must hold a current paratriathlete or elite paratriathlete USA Triathlon membership valid through July 18. In addition, they must either be a US citizen or US National able to represent the United States at World Triathlon competitions immediately.
www.thelegacytriathlon.com
www.challengedathletes.org
www.usaparatriathlon.org
www.usatriathlon.org
www.toyota.com
