USA Triathlon Sets Schedule for 2016 National Championship Events

USA Triathlon has announced the dates and locations for nearly all the events that will comprise the 2016 USA Triathlon National Championships schedule, allowing top amateur multisport athletes to compete for national titles, and in some cases world championship team spots, at high-level events across the country.

The season begins on Jan. 31 in St. Paul, Minnesota, with the Winter Triathlon National Championships, held in conjunction with the King Boreas Winter Triathlon, and ends Nov. 13 with the Long Course Triathlon and Aquabike National Championships, which will take place in Miami, Florida, as part of the MiamiMan Triathlon.

USA Triathlon Collegiate Club National Championships will return to Clemson, South Carolina, on April 22-23. The event will feature a different course from last year, with collegiate athletes representing an estimated 120-plus clubs competing for the overall title based on points earned in three championship races: a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5-kilometer run draft-legal sprint, the traditional 1,500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run championship and the four-person Mixed Team Relay, in which athletes will complete a 250m swim, 5k bike and 1.2k run. 

Duathlon Nationals will head west in 2016 and 2017 to Bend, Oregon, with the 2016 edition set for June 25. The nation's best run-bike-run athletes will have the option of a standard-distance and a sprint-distance race, and more information on draft-legal and non-draft options will be made available soon. Top finishers in each age group will earn a spot to represent Team USA in the duathlon event at the 2017 ITU Multisport World Championships Festival, held in Penticton, British Columbia, with specific details to be confirmed at a later date.

 USA Triathlon's longest-running National Championships event, Age Group Nationals, also moves to a new location in 2016 - Omaha, Nebraska. The two-day event features the Olympic-Distance National Championships on Saturday, Aug. 13, with athletes competing on a 1,500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run course, and the Sprint National Championships, a 750m swim, 20k bike, 5k run race, on Sunday, Aug. 14. Both events will be a non-draft format. The two-year stint in Omaha will see action centered at Carter Lake for the event, which has grown nearly 250 percent in the number of registered participants since 2010. Top finishers will qualify for Team USA in the 2017 ITU World Championships, part of the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Young triathletes ages 7-19 will return to West Chester, Ohio, on July 30-31 for the Youth & Junior National Championships, which offers a non-draft race option for youth age-groupers, along with draft-legal events for youth elite and junior elite competitors. In addition to the individual events, the Mixed Team Relay event will also be contested for youth elite and junior elite athletes. This will be the fifth time West Chester's Voice of America Park will host emerging talent, and more than 20 of the 38 active High Performance Teams are within a day's drive from the venue.

A complete listing of scheduled USA Triathlon National Championships is below. Paratriathlon Nationals and Women's Collegiate Nationals will be announced at a later date. 

In addition to Age Group Nationals and Duathlon Nationals, prized spots on Team USA may be earned at a number of USA Triathlon National Championships. Team USA is comprised of age-group athletes who represent the U.S. at each ITU world championship event. Visit usatriathlon.org for more information about Team USA. 

2016 USA Triathlon National Championships Schedule 

Visit usatriathlon.org for complete details

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).