Dutchman Jetze Plat is a four-time Paralympic Champion – with two golds in paracycling and a further two in paratriathlon.  

Plat earned his first paratriathlon gold in 2016 in the PT1 category before winning three golds in 2020 – PT1 in paratriathlon and the H4 Time Trial and H4 Road Race on the bike. 

Born in Amsterdam in June 1991, Plat was born with two stunted legs, and at age four began hand-cycling to school. Soon after, Plat began practicing to become a Para cyclist. 

At the age of 13, Plat began his triathlon journey and built himself a resumé comparable to anyone in the sport. In addition to his Paralympic titles, Play has won five consecutive World Triathlon titles between 2015-19, and a sixth and seventh title in 2021 and 2022.  

At the beginning of his athletic career Plat was coached and trained by Kees van Breukelen, but as Plat improved in the sport he was taken on by Ralf Bekers. 

Plat has been literally unbeatable in the past six years – the last time he was bettered on the course in a World Triathlon event was the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Chicago in 2015, and since then he has won 22 consecutive races.  

His outstanding performances at Tokyo 2020 – in 2021 – earned him a nomination for the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards 2022 Sportsperson of the Year – alongside fellow paratriathlete Susana Rodriguez. 

Jetze has admitted he has plans to retire after the next Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024. 

 

Jetze Plat record and results

Plat made his ITU debut at the World Triathlon Grand Final London in 2013. He finished second behind Australian Bill Chaffey by just seven seconds – that would be the first of just two defeats on the ITU circuit in his career. 

A pair of victories followed in 2014 as Plat took victory at the European Championship and ITU Madrid. A second European title followed in 2015, as did another ITU Madrid triumph. Plat ended 2015 with a third-place finish at the aforementioned Chicago Grand Final – finishing behind Chaffey once more and American Krige Schabort. 

In the buildup to the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Plat earned his third consecutive European Championship, a World Championship and a win at ITU Strathclyde. In Rio, Plat dominated the swim to take nearly a minute out of Chaffey and the chasing pack. He extended his lead on the bike by a further 67 seconds – opening enough of a gap to hold off the faster runners in the field. 

Jetze remained undefeated through the next Paralympic cycle; wins in 2017 at ITU Gold Coast, the European Championships in Kitzbuhel and the ITU Grand Final in Rotterdam, further success at ITU Yokohama, ITU Iseo – Franciacorta and the ITU Grand Final in Gold Coast in 2018, three more victories in 2019 at ITU Milan, Groupe Copley Montreal and ITU Grand Final in Lausanne. 

After a quiet 2020 – domestic victory in the Dutch National Championship – Plat set about a Paralympic title defense. Wins in the Para Series at Yokohama and Leeds gave him confidence heading into Tokyo. Play was in imperious form once more, opening a 56 second lead in the swim, extending it by a further 88 seconds on the bike before holding off Austrian Florian Brungraber on the run. 

In 2022, Plat secured a sixth world championship title in Abu Dhabi, before finishing second in Pontevedra in 2023. That year, the Dutchman won European gold in Madrid, as well as picking up victories on the World Triathlon Para circuit in Swansea and Paris.

So far in 2024, Plat looks poised to defend his title in Paris, with wins in Besancon and Swansea signalling he is in tremendous form ahead of what may be his final Paralympic Games appearance.

Jetze Plat gear

Jetze Plat represents the Nike Brand as of June 2021, and his current handcycle of choice comes from the Wolturnus range. 

Jetze’s sponsorship portfolio also includes the likes of UCI, Matrix, Toyota, Schiff, Double Performance, Phillips and Specialized 

Jetze is an ambassador for Move Forward, a Dutch initiative to get people with a disability moving.