With the 2024 Olympic Games less than four months, the first nine nations who will compete in the Mixed Team Relay have been confirmed by World Triathlon.
Monday March 25 marked the first major deadline of this Olympic cycle, with the full list of countries set to be confirmed after the qualifying window closes on Monday May 27.
In Tokyo three years ago, Great Britain won the first Olympic gold medal in the event, with France and the United States completing the podium.
Defending champions and hosts locked in for Paris
Before the deadline, three nations had secured their slots for this summer’s games, with hosts France, plus Great Britain and Germany, already qualified.
France, as the host nation, was guaranteed a slot. This meant that Great Britain, who finished second behind Les Bleus at the 2022 World Championship in Montreal, auto-qualified two years ago in Canada.
In 2023, Germany secured their slot when they took the win at the 2023 World Mixed Team Relay Championship in Hamburg, joining GB and France in securing their spots.
Big-name squads secure starts in French capital
Alongside the triathlon powerhouses who auto-qualified, the squads from New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, America, Italy and Portugal have all now secured their slot in Paris.
This means that in addition to racing the Mixed Team Relay, they are guaranteed two men and two women for this year’s Olympic Games, with some top ranked countries chasing a third spot in both individual races.
For the remaining teams hoping to qualify, it will all come down to the Huatulco Mixed Relay Olympic Qualifier, which will be held in Mexico on May 17 and excludes the teams that have already got a spot this summer.
Additionally, countries who do not secure their spot in Mexico can still qualify a team, but will need to have the minimum of two men and two women eligible to race in the individual events this summer.
Teams like Norway, Canada, Japan and the Netherlands, plus a whole host of other contenders, now face a scramble to put together a team ready to compete and chase a spot before the end of the qualification window on May 27.
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