U.S. Paralympic Triathlon Team Wins 8 Medals to Lead All Countries at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games

Women’s PTS5

Norman won her second career paratriathlon gold and fourth overall Paralympic medal, running away from the field to complete the sprint-distance triathlon (750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike, 5k run) in a time of 1 hour, 4 minutes, 40 seconds.

“(This feeling) is incredible. Going from gold to silver and back to gold, it definitely made me work hard over these eight years. I am ecstatic,” Norman said. “I tried to keep my cool on most of the run until the last lap when I knew I had it. I started picking out my family, my husband, my coaches and when I went by I gave them a little smile. Having these people here that I didn’t have in Tokyo meant the world to me as I crossed the finish line. It’s incredible.”

Claire Cashmore of Great Britain earned silver in 1:05.55, while her teammate Lauren Steadman — who won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics — earned bronze in 1:06.45. 

A three-time Paralympian, Norman won gold at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and silver at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. She also competed in track and field in Rio, winning bronze in the women’s 400-meters. A four-time World Champion, Norman came to Paris with eight consecutive wins in World Triathlon races dating back to November of 2022. A 2020 graduate of Cedarville University in Ohio, Norman competed on the NCAA track and cross-country teams.

Men’s PTS5

Hammer captured gold in the men’s PTS5 with a time of 58:44, running to the world title with a blistering fast 15:59 5k. Hammer joins U.S. paratriathlete Brad Snyder as the only two U.S. men to win gold in triathlon at the Paralympic or Olympic Games.

A former collegiate runner at Grand Valley State University, the 38-year-old Hammer dueled with Brazil’s Ronan Cordeiro throughout the 5k run. The two played a cat-and-mouse game, each surging to take the lead. Hammer took the lead for good with about 1k left, willing his way to his first Paralympic medal after finishing fourth in both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

“This is amazing. It’s so special. My family, my wife, my kids, they have all sacrificed so much for me to pursue my dreams,” said Hammer, who moved his family to Arizona so he could join USA Triathlon’s training group, Project Podium, becoming the program’s first paratriathlete to train alongside Olympic hopefuls. “For a while I felt so much weight on my shoulders thinking I have to podium for them. But once I realized they don’t care how I do — they’ll love me if I’m first or last — I just went out there and had fun. This is amazing.”

Cordeiro took second with a time of 59:01, while Martin Schulz of Germany finished third in 59:19. 

Women’s PTS2

A two-time Paralympic silver medalist, Danz won her first Paralympic gold in the women’s PTS2 race, using a strong bike leg to ride away from the field and cruise to the world title in a time of 1:14:31.

Danz earned silver at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, but turned in the performance of a lifetime to win her first Paralympic world title Monday in Paris.

“I saw some performances earlier this summer where I questioned if I really was on the right track. That was when I had to trust the process and trust my coach,” said Danz, who trains with the U.S. Paratriathlon Resident Team in Colorado Springs, coached by Derick Williamson. “The plan we put in place was to peak today and that was hard to do, but I did it. The plan worked. I had the best race of my life today.”

Fellow U.S. paratriathlete Allysa Seely won bronze on Monday, her third Paralympic medal. The two-time Paralympic gold medalist finished in 1:16:33.

“I fought the whole way. I never gave up. I wanted that third medal, that third gold and to defend my title, but today wasn’t my day. That happens,” Seely said.

Italy’s Veronica Yoko Plebani took second with a time of 1:15.37.

U.S. paratriathlete Melissa Stockwell finished fifth with a time of 1:21.06. A U.S. Army veteran, Stockwell earned the bronze at the Rio 2016 Games, part of the U.S. sweep of the podium with Seely and Danz.

Women’s PTWC

One of the most highly anticipated races of the day featured the matchup between the gold medalist from Tokyo, Gretsch, against the Tokyo silver medalist Lauren Parker of Australia.

Parker came out on top this time, earning gold in Paris in the women’s PTWC with a time of 1:06:23.

Gretsch, who starts her race about 3 minutes behind Parker due to differences in the severity of their disabilities, chased Parker and closed the gap to about a minute, but couldn’t catch Parker like she did in the epic chase down win in Tokyo. Gretsch earned the silver medal with a time of 1:07:46, her second Paralympic medal in paratriathlon.

A summer and winter Paralympic star, Gretsch now has seven career Paralympic medals, with five in Nordic skiing. One of only five U.S. Paralympians to win gold medals in both the summer and winter Paralympic Games. Now — after a brief break from training — Gretsch turns her attention to training for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.   

Canada's Leanne Taylor took bronze in women’s PTWC with a time of 1:12:11. 

Emelia Perry, who trains with Gretsch at the U.S. Paratriathlon Resident Team in Colorado Springs, finished fifth with a time of 1:14:03 in her Paralympic Games debut.

Men’s PTS2

The U.S. secured two spots on the podium in the men’s PTS2 race, with Mohamed Lahna earning silver with a time of 1:07.18 and teammate Mark Barr taking bronze in 1:07.33.

Jules Ribstein of France won gold with a time of 1:05.47.

This marks the first Paralympic medals for both Lahna and Barr as members of the U.S. delegation. Lahna won bronze in paratriathlon at Rio 2016 while competing for his native Morocco. A resident of California since 2011, Lahna officially raced for Team USA for the first time in 2021.

“It took eight years to go from third to second; quite the progress. I was a little bit nervous with the delay that we had, but I’m very happy to show the progress and showcase my training for the past eight years,” Lahna said. “Swimming is not my strength, so I was a bit worried about that, especially coming back against the current. The top swimmers were really ahead of me, so I was chasing on the bike. I had a minute-and-a-half gap to make up and it was not as easy as I expected. I am very happy I finished second. It’s an amazing course, an amazing day. Nothing to complain about.”

Barr finished fourth in at Rio 2016 and before paratriathlon he competed in the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in swimming. A former NCAA Division I swimmer at California Polytechnic State University, Barr has been searching for this Paralympic medal for a long time.

“I’ve been chasing the podium for 20 years, since 2004. Three fourth places, which is the worst place you can get in a race, so to finish on the podium finally is very rewarding. Man, a lot of training, a lot of heartache. I hate having to answer that I’ve never gotten a medal before. Now I can check that box, as a medalist, which is a great feeling to have,” Barr said. “I had on my phone, a picture of the podiums that I’ve missed. It was good motivation to push through the dark days of training and keep motivation high.”

Men’s PTS4

Clough, who began competing in the sport in 2022, won silver in the men’s PTS4 paratriathlon in his Paralympic debut with a time of 1:00.47.

A former NCAA Division I lacrosse player at the University of North Carolina, Clough found para-sport following a boating accident that led to a below-the-knee amputation on his right leg. Looking for a new athletic endeavor, Clough was introduced to paratriathlon in 2022 through USA Triathlon’s para virtual combine, which connects athletes with USA Triathlon’s high performance program. Showing talent for swimming and running, Clough began training with USA Triathlon Certified Coach Mark Sortino and won the PTS4 Paratriathlon National Championship in July 2022, just months after learning the sport. Outside of sport, Clough owns and operates a coffee shop in Charlotte, N.C. – The Giddy Goat Coffee Roasters.  

His Charlotte support was strong as more than 50 of Clough’s family members and friends traveled to Paris to watch Clough compete.

“They spent their hard-earned money, they spent a lot of time to come here watch me race an hour-long race. The race was pushed back, people changed their flights, so people made a lot of sacrifices to be here,” Clough said. “You want to know what I was thinking about on the run was every person who came over here or is supporting me back in Charlotte and across the U.S. I’m just super grateful.”  

Alexis Hanquinquant of France won gold with a time of 58:01, while Nil Riudavets Victory of Spain finished third in 1:01.10.

Clough’s teammate Eric McElvenny placed ninth with a time of 1:05.46. A two-time Paralympian, McElvenny is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and motivational speaker.

Men’s PTVI

Owen Cravens finished fourth in the men’s PTVI paratriathlon with a time of 1:00.43, while his U.S. teammate Kyle Coon took eighth place with a time of 1:02.47.

Paris is the first Paralympic Games for Cravens, 21, who trains with Project Podium.

These are the second Games for Coon, who competed at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. On Monday, he raced with a different guide, Marty Andrie, who replaced Coon’s usual guide, Zack Goodman who was unable to race due to illness.

Great Britain’s Dave Ellis of claimed gold in 58:41, Thibaut Rigaudeau of France finished in 1:00.05 for silver and Antoine Perel of France earned bronze in 1:00.25.  

Men’s PTWC

U.S. Paralympian Howie Sanborn, who served in the U.S. Army for 15 years as an airborne ranger and demonstrator on the U.S. Army Parachute Team, the ‘Golden Knights’, placed ninth in the men's PTWC paratriathlon race, clocking a time of 1:09:41. He overcame a mechanical issue with his race chair that caused him to crash, but he persisted, banged up race chair, and all to finish the race at his first Paralympic Games.

The Netherlands secured two podium positions, with Jetze Plat winning gold in 58:16 and Geert Schipper taking bronze with a time of 1:00:20. Austria's Florian Brungraber claimed the silver medal, finishing in 59:25. 

Women’s PTS4

Emma Meyers and Rachel Watts of Team USA finished eighth and 13th, respectively, in the women’s PTS4 race in their first Paralympic Games experience. Their U.S. teammate Kelly Elmlinger, a world champion and U.S. Army veteran, did not start due to illness.

Meyers, 18, is the youngest member of the U.S. team and will compete in NCAA Division II varsity women’s triathlon at Colorado Mesa University this fall.

Megan Richter of Great Britain took gold with a time of 1:11.56, Marta Gomez Frances of Spain earned silver with a time of 1:12.28, and Hannah Moore of Great Britain claimed bronze with a time of 1:13.01.