First Paralympic Paratri champs crowned

History was made at Copacabana Beach on Saturday, as the first-ever paratriathlon Paralympic champions were crowned. Martin Schulz (GER) in PT4, Andrew Lewis (GBR) in PT2 and Jetze Plat (NED) in PT1 craved their names in the history books as the inaugural paratriathlon gold medallists at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games.

In total, seven different nations were represented on the three podiums from three continents.

PT4 Martin Schulz (GER) became the first man to win a paratriathlon Paralympic gold medal when he put together a dominant performance in the men’s PT4 sport class.

“It is amazing. I just realized that today I win the gold medal and then the first paratri (Paralympic race) here at Copacabana. It is a nice place to compete, and it is a high part of my career. It has been what I have worked for over the last few years and I am very happy.”

After overcoming a huge time deficit after the swim, Schulz seized his moment on the bike and never relinquished the lead. Joining him on the podium was Canada’s Stefan Daniel (CAN) who earned the silver and Jairo Lopez Ruiz (ESP) who ended the day with bronze.

Showing his strength in the water, Great Britain’s George Peasgood swam his way to the lead over the 750m one-lap course. While he was followed shortly behind by Jose Abraham Estrada Sierra (MEX) and Maxime Maurel (FRA), Peasgood started the bike with a 30-second gap over the field.

Peasgood enjoyed an even further advantage, as heavy hitter Schulz was down by 52 seconds after the swim. Sitting in fourth place when he mounted his bike, it became crucial for Schulz to reel Peasgood in early. He did just that, hammering into the silver position behind Peasgood by the second lap, cutting the gap to half the time.

It was then on the third lap that Schulz finally caught the race leader and took his turn clocking through the timing mats first. Schulz entered the finish chute alone and seized the debut crown with ease, stopping to celebrate that he had become the first paratriathlon Paralympic Champion by more than 30 seconds.

Behind him, more battles bubbled up, …

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