U.S. Paratriathletes to Compete Against World's Best on Home Soil

Six paratriathletes who have provisionally qualified to represent the U.S. in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Paralympic Games lead the charge for a team of 18 American paratriathletes who will race in the ITU Elite Paratriathlon World Championships on Friday, Sept. 18 in Chicago's Grant Park.

Elite Paratriathlon Worlds will begin at 7 a.m. CT on Sept. 18. Athletes competing in five sport classes will complete a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer run along the shores of Lake Michigan and through the streets of Chicago, with the finish at Buckingham Fountain. Three sport classes per gender will be contested next year in Rio - PT1, PT2, PT4 for men; PT2, PT4, PT5 for women - and the winner of these sport classes in Chicago will earn a team quota spot for the Paralympic Games in addition to a world championship title.

Krige Schabort (PT1/wheelchair, Rome, Ga.), Mark Barr (PT2/severe impairment, Houston, Texas), Hailey Danisewicz (PT2, Chicago, Ill.), Chris Hammer (PT4/mild impairment, Salt Lake City, Utah), Grace Norman (PT4, Jamestown, Ohio) and Patricia Walsh (PT5/visual impairment, Austin, Texas) provisionally qualified for the U.S. Paralympic Triathlon Team by virtue of their finishes at the ITU World Paratriathlon Event held on the proposed Paralympic course on Aug. 1. These six athletes are all on the start list for the Friday morning championship event.

Schabort enters the men's PT1 race as the defending world champion, winning last year by nearly one minute. Danisewicz, who won the world title in 2013, earned silver one year ago in Edmonton and Hammer earned bronze.

Also on the start list are defending champions Kendall Gretsch (PT1, Madison, Wis.) and Aaron Scheidies (PT5, Seattle, Wash.). Gretsch won last year by more than five minutes thanks to a speedy bike split, and she is currently undefeated in ITU competitions. Scheidies, who has been competing internationally for a decade, looks to add to his medal haul of three world championship golds and one silver. Three-time ITU World Champion Melissa Stockwell (PT2, Chicago, Ill.), who sat out last year's championship event due to pregnancy, is also on the start list.

View complete start lists for each event at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final and World Championships at chicago.triathlon.org. The USA Paratriathlon Worlds Team roster is below.

In addition to Elite Paratriathlon Worlds, the 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago features 12 races from Sept. 15-19, including elite, junior and under-23 events, as well as aquathlon, sprint and Olympic-distance age-group triathlon world championships. Visit usatriathlon.org for full coverage of each race.

A free finish line camera of the races will be available on triathlon.org.

Interest in paratriathlon is at an all-time high on the global stage following the announcement in December 2010 that the sport was officially added to the Paralympic Games program. Visit usaparatriathlon.org for more information on each sport class, world rankings and grassroots efforts to grow the sport in the U.S.

2015 USA Paratriathlon Worlds Team Roster
Mark Barr (PT2, Houston, Texas)
Jamie Brown (PT4, Carlsbad, Calif.)
Mary Kate Callahan (PT1, La Grange, Ill.)
Patricia Collins (PT4, Alexandria, Va.)
Hailey Danisewicz (PT2, Chicago, Ill.)
Amy Dixon (PT5, Greenwich, Conn.)
Chris Hammer (PT4, Salt Lake City, Utah)
Kendall Gretsch (PT1, Madison, Wis.)
Brian Norberg (PT2, Chicago, Ill.)
Grace Norman (PT4, Jamestown, Ohio)
Krige Schabort (PT1, Rome, Ga.)
Aaron Scheidies (PT5, Seattle, Wash.)
Allysa Seely (PT2, Glendale, Ariz.)
Melissa Stockwell (PT2, Chicago, Ill.)
JP Theberge (PT4, Elfin Forest, Calif.)
Patricia Walsh (PT5, Austin, Texas)
Andrea Walton (PT3, Chicago, Ill.)
Jeremy Winters (PT5, Murfreesboro, Tenn.)

About USA Triathlon: USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon, as well as duathlon, aquathlon, aquabike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and paratriathlon in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,300 races and connects with nearly 500,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches and race directors on the grassroots level, USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of the ITU and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).