Nation's Fastest Duathletes to Race in Bend, Oregon

National titles and world championship team spots will be up for grabs at the 2016 USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championships, set for June 25 in Bend, Oregon.

Two national championship race distances will be available for run-bike-run athletes on Saturday, June 25, with the main venue set at Summit High School. The action will begin at 7:30 a.m. PT with a standard-distance 10-kilometer run, 40-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run course, followed by a sprint 5k run, 20k bike, 2.5k run beginning at 1 p.m. PT. Elite duathletes may compete in the standard-distance event, and the sprint event is open to paraduathletes. Registration is currently open for both races at usatriathlon.org/usatdu16, and no qualification is necessary.

Bend hosts the Duathlon National Championships for the first time in 2016, and the city will also host the event in 2017. Hundreds of duathletes competed in the 2015 event, held in St. Paul, Minnesota, where Kirsten Sass (McKenzie, Tenn.) earned the overall win in both the standard and sprint events, while Matthew Payne (Columbia Heights, Minn.) claimed the overall title for the men in the standard race and Kevin O'Connor (Medina, Minn.) was the overall sprint champion.

Duathlon Nationals competitors may qualify for the 2017 ITU Multisport World Championships Festival in Penticton, British Columbia, where world championship titles will be awarded to duathletes competing in standard and draft-legal sprint events. In the standard National Championship race, the top 18 finishers in each age-group, rolling down to 25th place, will qualify for Team USA. In the sprint race, at least the top eight finishers will qualify per age group, and additional spots will be awarded at a draft-legal duathlon qualification event later this year. More information on the Sprint Duathlon Worlds qualification process is available at usatriathlon.org.

Team USA is comprised of the nation's top multisport athletes who represent the U.S. at each ITU World Championships event. Visit usatriathlon.org/teamusa for more on Team USA.

 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).