27 Jun Triathlon Showdown at the Heart of Paris: Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024
In a month’s time, the triathletes will take part in the Olympic Games and a month later in the Paralympic Games. The technical course will showcase the sport and athletes in some of the capital’s most beautiful landmarks. They will start and finish at the majestic Pont Alexandre III.
Practical information
Olympic Games
Individual events – standard distance: swim 1.5km; bike 40km; run 10km
Men: Tuesday 30 July 2024 – 08:00 (local time) – Alexandre III Pontoon
Women: Wednesday 31 July 2024 – 08:00 (local time) – Alexandre III Pontoon
Mixed team relay – super sprint distance -four athletes (two women / two men): swim 300m; bike 5.8km; run 1.8km
Monday 5 August 2024 – 08:00 (local time) – Alexandre III Pontoon
Paralympic Games
Individual events – sprint distance: swim 750m; Para-bike 20km; run 5km
Men and women – PTS2 to PTS5 categories – Sunday 1 September 2024 – 08:15 (local time) – Alexandre III Pontoon
Men and Women – PTVI and PTWC categories – – Monday 2 September 2024 – 08:15 (local time) – Alexandre III Pontoon
Course information
Developed in collaboration with World Triathlon, the challenging courses will highlight some of the most beautiful monuments in Paris.
The starting point will be a floating pontoon positioned at the base of Pont Alexandre III bridge giving spectators the chance to see the start and finish of the triathlon and Para triathlon events, as well as the transition area, ensuring a thrilling show for spectators on site and on TV.
An iconic venue of Paris 2024, Pont Alexandre III links Les Invalides and Le Grand Palais. It will also serve as host to the Marathon Swimming events and the finish of the Olympic Road cycling events (men’s and women’s time trials).
The triathlon and Para triathlon events will put in the spotlight some of the most beautiful monuments in Paris. After the swim in the Seine, the athletes will pass Le Grand Palais, Le Petit Palais, l’Assemblée Nationale, Le Musée d’Orsay, Avenue des Champs-Elysées with the Arc de Triomphe as their backdrop, on the bike and run legs.
View of the bike course on Champs-Elysées with the Arc de Triomphe at the back.
There are plenty of options for spectators to support and cheer the athletes along the course in the heart of Paris, free of charge.
Details of the Olympic triathlon courses
The 55 male and 55 female triathletes who have qualified for the Olympic Games will compete in the individual events on 30 and 31 July to determine the successors to Kristian BLUMMENFELT (NOR) and Flora DUFFY (BER).
After a 1.5km swim in the Seine the triathletes will arrive in the transition area (swim to bike) on Pont Alexandre III after climbing 32 steps, a first in the history of the Olympic Games.
View of the transition area and finish chute on Pont Alexandre III with Les Invalides in the background.
The 40km bike course (seven laps of 5.715km) will head along Avenue Winston Churchill, passing in front of Le Grand Palais and Le Petit Palais before reaching two of the most beautiful avenues in the world, the Champs-Elysées and Avenue Montaigne, crossing the river Seine on Pont des Invalides and onto Quai d’Orsay. Onwards onto Boulevard Saint-Germain before returning to the banks of the Seine via Rue du Bac and Quai Anatole France and Quai d’Orsay.
At the end of the seven bike laps, the triathletes will reach the transition area (back on Pont Alexandre III) for the 10km run (4 laps of 2.5km) through the heart of Paris with the finish line on Pont Alexandre III.
View of the run course on Champs-Elysées with the Arc de Triomphe at the back.
One week later, the Olympic Games triathlon mixed relay event will take place on 5th August 2024.
On 5th August 2024, around 18 teams of four triathletes (two women and two men per nation) will compete in the mixed relay event to try and emulate Great Britain, the champions at Tokyo 2020.
In Paris, the female athletes will be closing the race with a relay order as follows: male athlete; female athlete; male athlete; female athlete.
Each athlete will complete a 300m swim in the Seine between Pont Alexandre III and Pont des Invalides, a 5.8km bike (two laps of 2.9km) via Pont Alexandre III, the Champs-Elysées and Avenue Montaigne, Rue François 1er, Place du Canada, Pont des Invalides and Quai d’Orsay. The athletes will finish with a 1.8km run (two 900m laps) between Pont Alexandre III and Pont des Invalides, with some of the most beautiful monuments in Paris as a backdrop.
The Paralympic Games events will benefit from the same incredible setting on 1st and 2nd of September 2024.
On 1st and 2nd of September, the third edition of the Para Triathlon at the Paralympic Games, will provide courses with undulating terrain and technical courses.
The 120 Para triathletes competing in the six categories will set off on 1st and 2nd of September 2024, battling it out for the 11 Paralympic titles at stake.
Athletes in the PTS2 to PTS5 categories (physical or neurological disability using regular or time trial bikes) will be the first to compete on 1st of September, followed by athletes in the PTWC (lower limb disability or spinal cord injury requiring the use of a handcycle for the biking part and a sports wheelchair) and PTVI (visual disability) categories on 2nd of September.
They will set off from the floating pontoon at the base of Pont Alexandre III for a 750m swim to Pont des Invalides before returning to the Ports des Invalides and the first transition area (swim/bike). Then the athletes will first bike 1.5km to access the Quai d’Orsay via a ramp just up from Pont de l’Alma before returning to Pont Alexandre III and doing five laps of 3.7km to complete the 20km bike course. The 3.7km lap will go along Avenue Winston Churchill, passing in front of Le Grand Palais and Le Petit Palais, Avenue des Champs-Elysées, Avenue Montaigne and Rue François 1er before crossing over the Seine at the Pont des Invalides. They will then reach the second transition area (bike/run) on Pont Alexandre III, and head back to Port du Gros Caillou before returning via Quai d’Orsay. The 2-lap course will go through Le Cours de la Reine, Pont de la Concorde and Quai d’Orsay, for a dramatic finish on Pont Alexandre III, completing a 5km race.
Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024: “At Paris 2024, we wanted to put the spotlight on triathlon, due to its popularity as both an Olympic sport since its first appearance at the Games in 2000 and in wider society, where it is gaining more and more fans. Particular care has been taken to create the triathlon and Para triathlon courses, which will be equally spectacular, in the heart of the city and next to some of the most beautiful Parisian monuments. With the swimming event in the Seine, the Paris 2024 edition of the triathlon and Para triathlon will ultimately contribute to leaving a legacy for the region and the people of Paris, with the swimmability of the Seine and the Marne representing a major goal ever since the bidding phase.”
Marisol Casado, President of World Triathlon: “The course of the triathlon and Para triathlon events in Paris is just everything that we have been dreaming of for years for the family of triathlon. The heartbeat of the city will echo in the rhythm of the race, as athletes will swim, bike and run right in the heart of the City of Lights. I can only imagine how wonderful it will be to see the best triathletes and para triathletes of the world sprint through the bustling streets, weaving past such historic landmarks and cheered on by a roaring crowd. To crown the Olympic and Paralympic champions in one of the most beautiful landscapes of the world will be just amazing. I am sure that the triathlon and Para triathlon races in Paris 2024 will leave an indelible mark on both the athletes and the city itself”
Having said that, there is still one variable, will the water of the Seine be clean enough to allow athletes to swim in? It’s more than a one million dollar question, but 1.5 billion dollars were spent to build a water tank to catch sewage during rainstorms that would normally flow into the Seine.
In late May, rain fell on Paris for a week. The rain overwhelmed the tank system, and street runoff and fecal matter flowed into the river, which increased the level of bacteria E. Coli and made the Seine unswimmable.
World Aquatics, the world governing body for swimming, recommends that organisers of open water events consider alternative locations to manage a drop in water quality on race day. But Paris officials chose hope as a strategy, and decided to hope it doesn’t rain, and that the warm sun of a typical Paris summer will kill enough of the dangerous bacteria. There is no Plan B, other than postponing races for a few days to let the yucky water flow downstream. If the water quality doesn’t improve, the triathlon would turn into a duathlon, run-bike-run format.
