USA Triathlon Announces 2022 Toyota U.S. Elite Paratriathlon National Team Roster

The talented roster, which includes five Paralympic triathlon medalists and six world champions, will compete at World Triathlon Para Series events and World Triathlon Para Cup events throughout 2022. The team will aim to build off the tremendous success of last season, when they took home five medals — including three gold — at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, the most of any country, and led all countries with 12 total medals across the two 2021 World Triathlon Para Series events in Yokohama and Leeds, including eight golds, the most of any country.

USA Triathlon values its role in helping further professionalize the sport of paratriathlon and continuing to be at the forefront in equitable treatment of all elite athletes. Starting this year, each member of the 2022 Toyota U.S. Elite Paratriathlon National Team will receive direct athlete support stipends equal to that of the funding the athletes on the 2022 Toyota U.S. Elite National Team receive.

2022 Toyota U.S. Elite Paratriathlon National Team Roster
* Denotes U.S. Paralympian

! Denotes Paralympic medalist
# Denotes U.S. military veteran

Women
*!Hailey Danz (Colorado Springs, Colo.), PTS2
*#Kelly Elmlinger (San Antonio, Texas), PTS4
*!Kendall Gretsch (Downers Grove, Ill.), PTWC
*!Grace Norman (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), PTS5
*!Allysa Seely (Glendale, Ariz.), PTS2

Men
*Kyle Coon (Colorado Springs, Colo.), PTVI

*Zack Goodman (Salisbury, Md.), PTVI — Guide

*Chris Hammer (Gilbert, Ariz.), PTS5

*!#Brad Snyder (Baltimore, Md.), PTVI, Team Toyota athlete

*!Greg Billington (Poway, Calif.), PTVI — Guide

“The group of elite athletes named to the 2022 Toyota U.S. Elite Paratriathlon Team have strong podium potential in the ever-improving elite ranks and are bona fide contenders for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which are now only a short two years away,” said Amanda Duke Boulet, USA Triathlon Paralympic Program Director. “We’re so excited to build off the momentum of the great performances our elite paratriathletes had in Tokyo and in other international competition, and through world-class coaching and access to training resources and facilities, these athletes have what it takes to continue to win medals consistently on the international stage.”

The Toyota U.S. Elite Paratriathlon National Team is supported by Toyota, USA Triathlon’s Exclusive Mobility & Automotive Partner. Toyota has shown unparalleled commitment to the paratriathlon program, serving as the title partner for the Toyota USA Paratriathlon National Championships and combining with the Challenged Athletes Foundation and USA Triathlon to annually offer a professional prize purse for the event. Toyota also directly sponsors select Team Toyota paratriathletes.

“It’s an incredible honor to support the 2022 Toyota U.S. Elite Paratriathlon Team,” said Dedra DeLilli, group manager, sponsorship strategy, integration & activation, Toyota Motor North America. “These athletes showcase incredible strength and will continue to inspire all of us as they demonstrate that anything is possible. We wish them all the success this season!”

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic gold medalists Allysa Seely (Glendale, Ariz., PTS2), Kendall Gretsch (Downers Grove, Ill., PTWC) and Brad Snyder (Baltimore, Md., PTVI) with his guide Greg Billington (Poway, Calif.) headline the 2022 roster.

With her gold medal in the PTS2 category in Tokyo, Seely became the only female two-time Paralympic gold medalist, adding to the gold medal she won in paratriathlon’s Paralympic debut at the Paralympic Games Rio 2016. Seely is also a three-time World Paratriathlon champion, and in 2019 won an ESPY for Best Female Athlete with a Disability.

Gretsch won the first women’s triathlon wheelchair race in Paralympic history in a thrilling finish in Tokyo as she became the fifth American to win gold medals at both the summer and winter Paralympic Games. Gretsch won two gold medals in Nordic skiing at the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 and is expected to compete at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 in March.

A U.S. Navy veteran and decorated Paralympian in swimming (five gold medals, two silver medals from the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games), Snyder added to his Paralympic hardware in his paratriathlon debut in Tokyo, as he and guide Billington took home gold in the PTVI category to become the first U.S. man to win a Paralympic or Olympic medal in an individual event in triathlon.

Fellow Tokyo medalists Hailey Danz (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Grace Norman (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) are also on the 2022 roster.

Danz won silver in Tokyo, matching her 2016 silver medal from Rio, becoming a two-time PTS2 Paralympic silver medalist. She then won gold at the 2021 World Triathlon Para Championships in Abu Dhabi, the second world title of her career.

Norman earned silver in the PTS5 category in Tokyo to go with her 2016 gold medal from Rio, and followed that up with a silver at the 2021 World Triathlon Para Championships. Norman also competed in track & field in Rio, earning bronze in the 400 meters on the track.

2021 World Triathlon Para Championships gold medalist Chris Hammer (Gilbert, Ariz., PTS5) is also on the 2022 team and vying for podium finishes on the world stage. A two-time fourth place finisher at the Paralympics (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020), Hammer recently moved with his family from West Virginia to Arizona to train with USA Triathlon’s elite training squad, Project Podium.

U.S. Army veteran Kelly Elmlinger (San Antonio, Texas, PTS4) is a fellow 2021 World Triathlon Para Championships gold medalist. Debuting on the elite paratriathlon circuit in 2018, Elmlinger made her first Paralympic appearance in Tokyo, classing up to race in the PTS5 classification. Her PTS4 classification will be included in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games program that will feature 11 medal events for paratriathlon, three more than the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Rounding out the roster is another Tokyo 2020 Paralympian, Kyle Coon (Colorado Springs, Colo.), PTVI, who races with his guide, Zack Goodman (Salisbury, Md.). A member of the Toyota U.S. Paratriathlon Resident Team Program, Coon placed fifth in Tokyo. He followed his Tokyo performance with a bronze medal at the 2021 World Triathlon Para Championships with Goodman as his guide. Paratriathlon guides are considered full-fledged U.S. National Team members by USA Triathlon, receiving support at the same capacity as the paratriathletes themselves.

Elite paratriathletes will compete in World Triathlon Para races across the world this season, with the 2022 World Triathlon Para Series Yokohama kicking off the international competition May 14. Domestically, the 2022 Americas Triathlon Para Championships Sarasota March 12-13 in Sarasota, Florida, offers elite competition on home soil for elite and developmental paratriathletes.

2022 World Triathlon Para Season Schedule
• 2022 Americas Triathlon Para Championships Sarasota – March 12-13
• 2022 World Triathlon Para Series Yokohama – May 14
• 2022 World Triathlon Para Cup Besancon – June 11-12
• 2022 World Triathlon Para Cup A Coruna – June 18-19
• 2022 World Triathlon Para Series Swansea – Aug. 6-7
• 2022 World Triathlon Para Series Finals Abu Dhabi – November TBD

To view the complete season calendar, visit triathlon.org/events.

For more information about elite paratriathlon, visit usaparatriathlon.org.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands, and directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America (more than 39,000 in the U.S.).

Over the past 60 years, Toyota has assembled nearly 43 million cars and trucks in North America at the company’s 13 manufacturing plants.  By 2025, the company’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

Through our more than 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.), Toyota sold more than 2.6 million cars and trucks (more than 2.3 million in the U.S.) in 2021, of which, more than a quarter were electrified vehicles (hybrids, plug-ins and fuel cells).

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, paratriathlon, and indoor and virtual multisport events in the United States. Founded in 1982, USA Triathlon sanctions more than 4,000 events and connects with more than 400,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work at the grassroots level with athletes, coaches, and race directors — as well as the USA Triathlon Foundation — USA Triathlon provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Triathlon Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. USA Triathlon is a proud member of World Triathlon and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).

– usatriathlon.org –