Team USA Eligibility
All athletes eligible to represent the United States must:
- Be a U.S. citizen OR
- Be a U.S. national – someone who has resided in the U.S. for three consecutive years and has not competed for their country of citizenship in the prior year. Team USA eligible athletes must not have competed for their country of citizenship in the prior year. Athletes who choose to be recognized as nationals who have competed for their country of citizenship in the last year may get dispensation by obtaining a letter from the National Federation of their home country allowing competition as a USA athlete.
Qualification Process
1. World Podium: Any athlete who places 1-3 in their age group at a world championship will automatically qualify for the respective world championship the following year.
2. National Championships: The remaining world championship slots are allocated to athletes who compete in the respective national championship and finish in a qualifying place (see below for number of slots allocated and the roll down process per event).
3. Rankings: If slots are still available, any athlete who finished in the aged up age group top twenty in their age group in the USA Triathlon year end (12/31) rankings will be considered for slots on the team starting with the highest ranked athlete having first option to accept followed by 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc., (through 20th) until we have reached the first two athletes who accept the slot or until we reach spot 20.
Team USA Age Up Rule
At 2019 Nationals, athletes will race in their appropriate age groups based on their age as of Dec. 31, 2019. Awards will be issued based on those results. If an athlete "ages up" into another age group in 2020, a separate set of results will be issued accounting for those athletes who aged up and Team USA slots will be awarded based on these results. So their finish time will be compared to those athletes in the older age group. For example, if John Doe is going to be 49 years old by Dec. 31, 2019, he will age-up up into the 50-54 age group for the 2020 World Championships since he will be 50 years old by Dec. 31, 2020. Thus, for Team USA qualifying purposes, his time at the qualification event will be compared to the men currently in the 50-54 age group. We will post the age-up results at the awards ceremony at Duathlon and Age Group Nationals. At other national championships, age-up results will not be posted and athletes will claim their spot through email within 2-3 weeks post-event.
Rankings Requirements
For duathletes to be ranked this season, you will need to complete three sanctioned duathlons between January 1 and December 31, of the respective year. If questions, go to the USAT Rankings at https://www.teamusa.org/usa-triathlon/rankings/rankings-criteria.
For triathletes to be ranked this season, you will need to complete three sanctioned triathlons between January 1 and December 31, of the respective year. If questions, go to the USAT Rankings at https://www.teamusa.org/usa-triathlon/rankings/rankings-criteria.
Minimum Age Requirements
|
Discipline |
USAT National Championship Minimum Age |
ITU World Championship Minimum Age |
|
Aquathlon |
15 |
16 |
|
Standard Duathlon |
17 |
18 |
|
Sprint Duathlon |
15 |
16 |
|
Olympic Triathlon |
17 |
18 |
|
Sprint Triathlon |
15 |
16 |
|
Long-Distance Duathlon |
17 |
18 |
|
Long Course Triathlon |
17 |
18 |
|
Off Road (Cross) Triathlon |
17 |
18 |
|
Winter Triathlon |
17 |
18 |
|
Aquabike |
17 |
18 |
|
Middle-DIstance Duathlon |
17 |
18 |
World Championship |
Qualifier Event/ Route |
Athletes per Age Group/ Gender |
Max |
ITU Winter World Championship
|
1. USA Triathlon Winter National Championship |
Top 18 per age group/gender Rolling down to 30th place |
18 |
2. Podium Finishers |
Podium finishers from previous ITU Winter World Championships |
||
ITU Multisport World Championship FestivalITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championship |
1. USA Triathlon Long Course National Championship |
Top 16 per age group/gender Rolling down to 30th place |
18 |
2. USA Triathlon Ultra-Distance National Championships |
1st place per age group/gender 2nd place per age group/gender qualify only if their finishing time is within 30% of the first-place athlete's finishing time |
||
3. Podium Finishers |
Podium finishers from previous ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championship |
||
4. Rankings |
Top 2 per age group/gender in triathlon (offered in consecutive order) Rolling down to 20th place |
||
ITU Multisport World Championship FestivalITU Cross Triathlon (Off-Road) World Championship |
1. USA Triathlon Cross (Off-Road) Triathlon National Championship |
Top 18 per age group/gender Rolling down to 30th place |
18 |
2. Podium Finishers |
Podium finishers from previous ITU Cross Triathlon World Championship |
||
3. Rankings |
Top 2 per age group/gender in off-road triathlon (offered in consecutive order) Rolling down to 20th place |
||
ITU Multisport World Championship FestivalITU Aquathlon World Championship |
1. USA Triathlon Aquathlon National Championship |
Top 18 per age group/gender Rolling down to 30th place
|
18 |
2. Podium Finishers |
Podium finishers from previous ITU Aquathlon World Championship |
||
3. Rankings |
Top 2 per age group/gender in Aquathlon (offered in consecutive order) Rolling down to 20th place
|
||
ITU Multisport World Championship FestivalITU Aquabike World Championship |
1. USA Triathlon Aquabike National Championship |
Top 18 per age group/gender Rolling down to 30th place |
18 |
2. Podium Finishers |
Podium finishers from previous ITU Aquabike World Championship |
||
3. Rankings |
Top 2 per age group/gender in Aquabike (offered in consecutive order) Rolling down to 20th place |
||
ITU Multisport World Championship FestivalITU Sprint Duathlon World Championship (Draft-Legal) |
1. USA Triathlon Non-Drafting Duathlon National Championship |
Top 8 per age group/gender No roll down slots granted |
18 |
2. USA Triathlon Draft-Legal Duathlon World Qualifier |
Top 10 per age group/gender Rolling down to 30th place
|
||
3. Podium Finishers |
Podium finishers from previous ITU Sprint Duathlon World Championship (Draft-Legal) |
||
ITU Multisport World Championship FestivalITU Standard Duathlon World Championship |
1. USA Triathlon Standard Duathlon National Championship |
Top 18 per age group/gender Rolling down to 30th place
|
18 |
2. Podium Finishers |
Podium finishers from previous ITU Standard Duathlon World Championship |
||
3. Rankings |
Top 2 per age group/gender in Duathlon (offered in consecutive order) Rolling down to 20th place |
||
ITU World Triathlon Grand FinalITU Sprint Distance Triathlon World Championship |
1. USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships, Sprint Distance |
Top 8 per age group/gender Rolling down to 18th place** **Places 9th-18th only qualify for a roll-down if finishing within 30% of the first-place athlete’s time in the aged-up age group/gender at the race. These roll-down spots will only be offered after the Draft-Legal Sprint Triathlon World Championship Qualifier places have been claimed.
Results from this race determine the “noted finish time broken down by a percentage” for the Draft-Legal Sprint Triathlon World Championship Qualifier for the corresponding year.
Must claim spot at awards ceremony of qualifying race (Team USA Lounge) |
18 |
2. USA Triathlon Draft-Legal National Championships, Sprint Distance |
Top 10 per age group/gender AND be within the noted finish time broken down by a percentage by age group at this event; which is calculated based on the difference in time between the fastest finisher in each age group at the Age Group National Championship in Cleveland and the person earning the last possible spot on the team (18th place). A table of percentages will be available on the website following the conclusion of Age Group Nationals.
No roll down slots granted. |
||
3. Podium Finishers |
Podium finishers from previous ITU Sprint Distance Triathlon World Championship |
||
4. Rankings |
Top 2 per age group/gender in sprint distance triathlon (offered in consecutive order) Rolling down to 20th place |
||
ITU World Triathlon Grand FinalITU Standard/ Olympic Distance Triathlon World Championship |
1. USA Triathlon Age Group National Championship, Standard/Olympic Distance |
Top 18 per age group/gender Rolling down to 30th place
Must claim spot at awards ceremony of qualifying race (Team USA Lounge) |
18 |
2. Podium Finishers |
Podium finishers from previous ITU Standard/ Olympic Distance Triathlon World Championship |
||
3. Rankings |
Top 2 per age group/gender in standard/ Olympic distance triathlon (offered in consecutive order) Rolling down to 20th place |
||
ITU Powerman Long-Distance Duathlon World Championship |
1. USA Triathlon Long Course Duathlon National Championship |
Top 18 per age group/gender Rolling down to 30th place
|
18 |
2. Podium Finishers |
Podium finishers from previous ITU Powerman Long-Distance Duathlon World Championship |
||
3. Rankings |
Top 2 per age group/gender in duathlon (offered in consecutive order) Rolling down to 20th place |
||
ITU Powerman Middle-Distance Duathlon World Championship |
1. USA Triathlon Long Course Duathlon National Championship |
Top 18 per age group/gender Rolling down to 30th place
|
18 |
2. Podium Finishers |
Podium finishers from previous ITU Powerman Middle-Distance Duathlon World Championship |
||
3. Rankings |
Top 2 per age group/gender in duathlon (offered in consecutive order) Rolling down to 20th place |
For any questions, please email teamusa@usatriathlon.org.
