Abu Dhabi to host the 2026 World Triathlon Multisport Championships

The World Triathlon Executive Board has decided to award the 2026 World Triathlon Multisport Championships to Abu Dhabi, UAE, while the 2027 edition will travel to Edmonton, Canada. World Triathlon has also confirmed that the 2024 Mixed Relay Championships will be held in Hamburg during the weekend of the World Triathlon Championship Series, and made a few additions to the 2024 racing calendar.

“We are delighted to see the continued commitment of Abu Dhabi with our sport,” said World Triathlon President and IOC member Marisol Casado. “They have shown year after year the desire to grow triathlon and to host the world’s best athletes in a remarkable setting. After years of hosting outstanding WTCS action, it is hugely exciting to know that the Multisport World Championships will be the next top-level event to benefit from the formidable experience and dedication of Abu Dhabi as well as Edmonton. And just ahead of the second ever Olympic Mixed Relay at Paris 2024, we will crown the world champions in the city that has become synonymous with the format, Hamburg.”

“On behalf of Modon, the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the UAE Triathlon Federation, the Department of Culture and Tourism, and all Abu Dhabi Stakeholders, we are delighted to acknowledge that Abu Dhabi Hudayriyat Island has been awarded the 2026 World Triathlon Multisport Championship. This recognition acknowledges the strong relationship between Abu Dhabi and World Triathlon and it is with joy that we confirm our commitment to deliver a fantastic moment of sport along with an unforgettable experience to all athletes, participants, and fans”, said Bill O’Regan, CEO of Modon.

The world’s best Multisport athletes will be ready to “Do North” in 2027, with the Multisport Championships awarded to Edmonton. Having previously hosted the Championship Finals 2021 and 2014 and multiple editions of the Championship Series, the Canadian city has a proven record of hosting high quality events that provide world-class athletes and local audiences an exceptional experience.

The upcoming Multisport World Championships will bring together duathlon, cross duathlon, long-distance triathlon, long-distance aquabike, aquathlon, and cross triathlon world championship races in a week-long festival. Over 3,000 athletes from all over the world will enjoy another festival of the sport with friends and family, gathering for what has become in the last years one of the pinnacle events for World Triathlon and the extended triathlon community.

The World Triathlon Multisport Championships made its debut in the World Triathlon calendar in 2017 in Penticton, Canada, followed by Fyn, Denmark in 2018, and Pontevedra, Spain in 2019. After the pandemic impacted the 2020 event, in 2021 the championships were divided across three different locations: Almere, The Netherlands hosted the Long Distance and Aquabike races, while Aviles, Spain organised the Duathlon World Championships, and El Anillo, Spain hosted the Cross Triathlon and Aquathlon World Championships.

The 2022 World Triathlon Multisport Championships were also split between two locations, with Targu Mures, Romania hosting Duathlon, Cross Triathlon, and Cross Duathlon, while Samorin, Slovakia hosted the Aquathlon and the Long Distance Triathlon and Aquabike World Championships. In 2023, the event was hosted in Ibiza, Spain, while in 2024 the Multisport community will gather in August in the city of Townsville, Australia. The 2025 Multisport Championships will see world championship racing return to Pontevedra, Spain.

Mixed Relay World Championships

In 2024, the Mixed Relay World Champion title will once again be up for grabs in the format’s spiritual home of Hamburg. The Mixed Relay World Championships will be held as part of the 22nd SUZUKI World Triathlon Hamburg powered by HAMBURG WASSER. While the individual races of the World Triathlon Championship Series will take place on Saturday 13 July 2024, the mixed relay world title will be contested one day later (Sunday, 14 July).

This would be the 10th time that Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg hosts the Mixed Relay World Championships - from 2013 to 2020 and in 2023 - proving that the fast and furious format fits perfectly not only with the city, but also with the fans and spectators that every year come to watch one of the most exciting sporting event that takes place in the city.

World Cups

World Triathlon’s Executive Board has also agreed to approve another World Cup to the 2024 calendar, Tongyeong, in Korea, that will host a Standard distance race on the weekend of October 26-27.

It has also been approved a change of the date of the 2024 World Triathlon Cup Valencia, initially planned for 21 September 2024, that will now take place one week earlier, on the weekend of 14 September 2024.

World Triathlon Para Cups

World Triathlon is pleased to announce that four World Triathlon Para Cups have been added to the 2024 racing calendar, three of them taking place during the Paralympic qualification period.

Yenihesir, in Turkey, will welcome Para triathletes from all over the world on April 20, 2024, while Vigo, Spain, hometown of Para triathlon superstar Susana Rodriguez, will make its debut on the Para circuit hosting a Para Triathlon Cup on 1-2 June.

The Para triathlon circuit will move from there to Taranto, in Italy, for the second edition of the World Triathlon Para Cup that will take place on 8-9 June 2024, still within the Paralympic qualification period.

The last addition to the Para triathlon calendar would be Alhandra, in Portugal, on 12 October 2024, just a week before the World Triathlon Championship Finals in Malaga that will also award this year’s Para triathlon world titles.

Here is the current confirmed calendar for the 2024 World Triathlon race season:

Olympic and Paralympic Games

30, 31 July & 5 August – Paris 2024 Olympic Games
1-2 September – Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

2024 World Triathlon Championship Series:

8-9 March – WTCS Abu Dhabi, UAE (Sprint distance & Mixed Relay)
11 May – WTCS Yokohama, JPN (Standard distance)
25-26 May – WTCS Cagliari, ITA (Standard distance)
13-14 July – WTCS Hamburg, GER (Sprint distance & Mixed Relay)
14-15 September – WTCS Montreal, CAN (Sprint distance & Mixed Relay)
17-20 October – World Triathlon Championship Finals Malaga, ESP (Standard distance)

Mixed Relay:

24-25 February - Napier, NZL
9 March - WTCS Abu Dhabi, UAE
19 May - Mixed Relay Olympic Qualification Event Huatulco, MEX
14 July - Hamburg, GER World Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships
15 September - WTCS Montreal, CAN

World Triathlon Cup:

24-25 February - Napier (NZL) – Sprint
23-24 March - Hong Kong (HKG) - Sprint
30 March - Lievin (FRA) - Indoor
20-21 April - Wollongong (AUS) - Sprint
29 Apr - Chengdu (CHI) - Standard
17-19 May - Samarkand (UZB) – Standard
17-19 May - Huatulco (MEX) – Sprint
6-7 July - Tiszaujvaros (HUN) - Semifinal/final
7-8 September - Karlovy Vary (CZE) – Standard
14 September - Valencia (ESP) – Sprint
27 September - Weihai (CHN) - Standard
5-6 October - Rome (ITA) – Sprint
12-13 October - Tangier (MAR) – Sprint
26-27 October - Brasilia (BRA) – Standard
26-27 October - Tongyeong (KOR) – Standard
2-3 November - Vina del Mar (CHI) – Sprint
9-10 November - Miyazaki (JPN) – Sprint

Para Triathlon:

8-9 March – Para Cup Abu Dhabi, UAE
16-17 March – WTPS Devonport, AUS
20 April – Para Cup Yenihesir, TUR
11 May – WTPS Yokohama, JPN
18-19 May – Para Cup Samarkand, UZB
1-2 June – Para Cup Vigo, ESP
8-9 June – Para Cup Taranto, ITA
15-16 June – Para Cup Besancon, FRA
22-23 June – WTPS Swansea, GBR
29-30 June – WTPS Montreal, CAN
13-14 July - Para Cup Tata, HUN
20-21 July – Para Cup Long Beach, USA
12 October – Para Cup Alhandra, POR
17-20 October – World Triathlon Para Championships Malaga, ESP

Multisport:

15-25 August - World Triathlon Multisport Championships Townsville
8 Sept - World Triathlon Powerman Long Distance Duathlon Championships Zofingen

Please note that the above calendar is not final, with more events to be announced in the coming weeks.