The 2016 Paratriathlon European Championships were hosted in Lisbon, Portugal, where British athletes won seven medals.

The eleven-strong squad won four gold, two silver and one bronze medal at the championships however, with valuable ranking points for the Rio Paralympic Games on offer, there was a lot to race for besides the medals.

In order to secure a qualification spot for ParalympicsGB in Rio, athletes needed to be ranked in the top seven in their classification, with Lisbon being the final continental championships before the end of the qualification window.

Britain once again showed it’s dominance in the women’s PT4 and PT5 categories, with one-twos for Lauren Steadman and Faye McClelland and Alison Patrick and Melissa Reid, respectively.

Steadman retained her title from 2015, with McClelland also retaining the silver medal she won in Geneva. Current world champion, Steadman, crossed the line almost two minutes ahead of her compatriot, however, it was much closer between McClelland and Lemoussu (FRA) in third.

Above: It was a British one-two in the women's PT4 race

The French athlete had a faster swim, only coming out of the water behind Steadman. With faster transition and cycling times, McClelland was able to create a narrow lead as the athletes headed out onto the run.

Despite setting a faster run time (by a second), Lemoussu was unable to catch McClelland who crossed the line two seconds in-front.  Clare Cunningham was the only other Brit in the field, finishing fourth.

In the PT5 race, Patrick and Reid were the fastest two athletes in all three disciplines, with Patrick having the better of her compatriot throughout to win by over 90 seconds alongside guide, Hazel Smith.

Reid was guided by Nicole Walters as she outperformed the remainder of the field to finish in a comfortable second position, with Susana Rodriguez (ESP) finishing third, almost a minute further back.

Above: Tench showed her strength on the bike to take gold

The final female British athlete to race was Lizzie Tench (PT1) who won her first ever European Championship title. Tench recorded the slowest swim time however, with a bike time that was over four minutes faster than anyone else, she was able to create an insurmountable lead.

There was further success for the British men in Portugal too. Andy Lewis (PT2) also secured his first European Championship win.

Lewis exited the swim first, however this advantage was lost on the bike with three athletes completing the leg faster than him. Out on the run, Lewis proved to be the superior athlete and was able to take the tape nearly 40 seconds ahead of Bahier (FRA) in second and Ferrarin (ITA) in third. 

Also medalling in Lisbon was Joe Townsend, winning bronze in the PT1 race. The Netherlands’ duo of Jetze Plat and Geert Schipper took first and second, with Plat, the only athlete to finish in under an hour, cross the line almost three minutes ahead of his compatriot.

Above: Andy Lewis won his maiden European Championship gold in Lisbon

Townsend finished a further minute behind having posted the fastest run time of the day and being second only to Plat on the bike. Phil Hogg also represented Britain in the race, crossing the line fifth.

George Peasgood and David Hill both pulled on the GB trisuit in the PT4 category. Having completed the swim first and third, respectively, neither were able to maintain their position across the bike and run stages.

Peasgood had a strong bike leg, whilst Hill had a good run, as they finished fifth and sixth. Martin Schulz (GER) took the win and crossed the line in just under an hour.