To celebrate a brilliant year of paratriathlon racing, we decided to look back on the season and carefully select a handful of winners for our 2023 TRI247 Triathlon Awards.
For our fourth award, we’re recognising the efforts of the best male paratriathlon racers, with our ‘Male Paratriathlete of the Year’ Award, picked from a shortlist of incredible athletes by our expert panel.
This year, the shortlist was made up of Dutchman Jetze Plat, Frenchman Alexis Hanquinquant, Spaniard Daniel Molina and Great British star Dave Ellis.
The Nominees
With so many great paratriathletes making their case for this award in 2023, we were left with the difficult decision of narrowing it down to a short list of just four athletes. Eventually, we came up with the nominees, Plat, Hanquinquant, Molina and Ellis, whose achievements we will all look at in depth.
Beginning with Ellis, who along with guide Luke Pollard enjoyed an incredible season in 2023, as the Brit won six of his seven races during a golden five month period.
After finishing second at the European Duathlon Championship in Madrid at the start of the season, which was changed to a duathlon due to water quality issues, Ellis went on to win his next six races, which culminated with a World Championship title in Pontevedra.
Having missed out on a medal at the Tokyo Paralympic Games after a broken bike chain during the race, Ellis will be the firm favourite for the gold medal next summer in Paris.
Next, French Paralympic champion Hanquinquant is another top paratriathlete who looks primed for Paris next year, as he looks to defend his Paralympic title on home soil after an unbeaten season in 2023.
Along with a European title in Madrid, Hanquinquant won in front of a home crowd at the Paris Test Event before clinching the world title in Pontevedra, beating fellow countryman Pierre-Antoine Baele to take home a sixth consecutive title.
Finally, Molina is a man with a lot to look forward to after a brilliant 2023, with the Spaniard, who turns 50 next year, finally getting the opportunity to compete for Paralympic gold with his classification included next year in Paris.
Unbeaten in 2023, Molina secured back-to-back world championship titles with a memorable win on home turf in Pontevedra, as well as picking up a national title and winning the European Championship again in front of a home crowd in Madrid.
Each of Ellis, Molina and Hanquinquant were more than worthy of winning the award, having enjoyed an incredible amount of success in a thrilling season. However, for our panel, there could only be one winner after a stunning 12 months.
Our Winner – Jetze Plat
Plat, who will be racing for his third consecutive Paralympic gold medal next year in Paris, had a brilliant year in 2023, despite seeing his unbeaten run which stretched back to 2015 broken by fellow countryman Geert Schipper at the World Championship in Pontevedra.
On top of his achievements in the world of paratriathlon, Plat showed his versatility with podiums on the road at World Marathon Major events, plus a handcycling World Championship title at the UCI event in Glasgow.
Next year in Paris, the Dutch star will aim for gold in the paratriathlon and paracycling events, with a shot at the wheelchair marathon also potentially on the cards.
