British Triathlon has added eight new athletes to its Olympic and Paralympic World Class Programme as they aim to build momentum towards LA 2028, Brisbane 2032 and future Games.
The newcomers join an elite squad of 25 retained stars – including Olympic individual medallists Alex Yee and Beth Potter, and Paris Paralympic gold medallists Dave Ellis and Meg Richter – in a programme supported by UK Sport and the National Lottery.
Paralympic World Class Programme
PTWC athlete Josh Landmann and PTVI talent Rachael Elliott join the Paralympic World Class Programme following standout seasons.
Landmann claimed three podiums in quick succession – bronze at the European Para Championships in Besançon, gold at the World Triathlon Para Cup in Magog, and silver at the Montreal Para Series. Elliott earned her spot with a series of late season podium standard performances.
Eight-time World Champion Ellis (PTVI) and guide Luke Pollard, along with Paralympic medallists Richter (PTS4), Claire Cashmore (PTS5), Lauren Steadman (PTS5) and Hannah Moore (PTS4) headline the retained squad.
They’re joined by Alison Peasgood and Oscar Kelly (both PTVI), as well as rising star Henry Urand (PTS3) who clinched his second World title in Wollongong recently.
George Peasgood is retained following his return to the sport in the PTS3 classification, whilst Ryan Taylor is also confirmed on the programme after an impressive comeback to paratriathlon earlier this year
Alongside Luke Pollard, guides Brooke Gillies and Jack Hutchens are also retained.
Josh Landmann said: “Starting paratriathlon in 2018 with no background in any of the disciplines, I’ve had to learn everything from the ground up. That journey has taught me resilience and a constant drive to improve.
“Joining the World Class Programme is an incredible step, and I’m committed to pushing my performance further as I target Paralympic success in LA and beyond. I hope to help grow the visibility of paratriathlon and inspire future athletes to follow a pathway of equal opportunity.”
And Mike Cavendish, British Triathlon Performance Director, said: “Our Paralympic World Class Programme looks stronger than ever as we retain all our Paralympic and World Championships medallists and welcome Josh Landmann and Rachael Elliott to the team.
“Those stellar performances we saw at the Paralympics in Paris 2024 have continued this year with Dave Ellis gaining his eighth World title and Henry Urand further making his mark on the sport as he retained his World title for a second year. Ryan Taylor’s return to triathlon has also been impressive as he took second place, behind Henry, in the PTS3 category at the World Championships.”
Olympic World Class Programme
Oliver Conway, Alex Robin, Brandon Pye, Michael Gar, Jack Willis and Sian Rainsley join the Olympic World Class Programme after impressive results across the season.
Conway struck gold twice at October’s World Triathlon Grand Finals in Wollongong, winning the Under-23 men’s race and the mixed relay.
Robin added silver in the Junior men’s event, while Pye earned his spot with a podium at the European Junior championships in Melilla. Gar impressed with his first World Triathlon Cup in Miyazaki, whilst Willis and Rainsley return to the programme after ending the year with strong world rankings – making them ideally placed to add depth to the push for quota places in LA.
Retained stars include Olympic gold medallist Yee, following his successful detour into marathon running at both London and Valencia, and bronze medallist Potter. They are joined by mixed relay medallists Sam Dickinson and Georgia Taylor-Brown, plus Kate Waugh, who has had huge success in the T100 this year.
Olivia Mathias, Sophie Coldwell, Jess Fullagar, Tilly Anema, Sophie Alden, Hugo Milner and Connor Bentley also remain, adding depth, experience and significant future potential to the squad.
Conway excited by progress
Oli Conway added: “Being added to the World Class Programme is a really exciting opportunity and I’m excited to take advantage of it and see how it can help me. Growing up it was Jonny and Alistair Brownlee who inspired me, it was watching them at the London Olympics in 2012 that got me into the sport and long term I’d love to follow in their footsteps and make the Olympics in 2028 or 2032 if I can.”
And Sian Rainsley said: “It feels really good to be back on the World Class Programme. I feel like I’m in a good place and with the support behind me from British Triathlon, I’m ready to hit the ground running next season. I was very consistent in the top fifteen last year, so I’d like to nudge back to being top ten, top eight, if not better. My hopes for the 2026 season are to keep progressing and get my world ranking going in the right direction.”
British Triathlon Performance Director Cavendish added: “With the addition of six new athletes, the Olympic World Class Programme adds an even greater depth of talent as we plan for LA2028, Brisbane and beyond.
Introducing emerging talent such as Oliver Conway, Michael Gar, Alex Robin and Brandon Pye alongside our hugely successful established triathlon stars, such as Alex Yee, Beth Potter, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Kate Waugh and Sam Dickinson gives me great confidence for medal success in the coming years as we get ever closer to the next Games.”
Four athletes leaving
Four athletes will be leaving the programme – Dan Dixon and Barclay Izzard on the Olympic front and Finley Jakes (PTS4) and Michael Salisbury (PTS5) from the Paralympic team.
Cavendish explained: “Making decisions on who to support via the World Class Programme is always really hard, especially when we have such great strength in depth across the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines.
Unfortunately, this means that we can’t support everyone and we have had to make the difficult decision to begin the process of transitioning Dan, Barclay, Fin and Michael off the programme. They have contributed significantly in their time on the WCP, and I hope to see them continue competing for Great Britain in 2026 and beyond.”
