The dates are confirmed – triathlon’s test events for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held on 1-2 August next year, with qualification points up for grabs and huge crowds expected.

Advertisement

The routes will take athletes along Copacabana beach on the restaurant-lined Avenida Atlantica, with the Olympic course also climbing through local neighbourhoods – along the same route as the real thing in 2016.

The 2015 Rio de Janeiro ITU World Olympic Qualification Event will feature a start list of 75 men and women, and will offer the maximum level of Olympic qualification points available, putting it on par with the World Triathlon Series Grand Final. Neither prize money nor ITU World Cup or World Triathlon Series points will be available at the test event however.