UIPM 2019 Biathle-Triathle National Tour: A big step forward in Piliyandala (SRI)

The Biathle-Triathle National Tour moved to Asia for the fourth round of the 2019 circuit – and Sri Lanka’s sporting community welcome it with open arms.

Almost 200 athletes took part in age categories from Under 11 to senior, across Biathle, Triathle and even Laser Run at Central College in Piliyandala. Young people came from schools, clubs and villages from all around the country to take part.

Interest among parents and the general public was evident with large numbers of people watching, and the success of the event was underpinned by the work of 15 volunteers from various universities and the private sector who took on the challenge of organisation. 

Nishanthe Piyasena, President of the Modern Pentathlon Federation of Sri Lanka, said: “Our next focus is to cultivate Tetrathlon among Sri Lankan athletes in order to participate in the Youth Olympics in 2022 and World University Championship in 2020 and uplift the Modern Pentathlon sport to the next level.

“We expect the Ministry of Sport, the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka and other well-wishers who love the multi-sport culture to assist preparing our athletes to participate in Asian Championships, World University Championships and qualification events for the next YOG in Dakar, Senegal.”

Viacheslav Malishev, UIPM Executive Board Member for Development, said: “Biathle and Triathle are two of the pillars of UIPM’s global development programme, enabling athletes to transition between running, swimming and, in the case of Triathle, laser shooting and enhance their chance of becoming pentathletes.

“I am delighted that the UIPM Biathle-Triathle National Tour is up and running again and I congratulate everybody involved in this year’s event in Sri Lanka on an excellent competition that was clearly enjoyed by many people.”

About 100 cities have been selected in 2019 as hosts of the BTNT or GLRCT, with the BTNT venues including Sevan (ARM), Abidjan (CIV), Bamako (MAL) and Hurghada (EGY).

The full calendar can be viewed at the UIPM website, where you can also find more information on UIPM’s various multi-discipline sports.

The UIPM 2019 Biathle-Triathle World Championships will be held in Saint Petersburg, Florida (USA) from October 23-27.

In December, Laser Run and Triathle will both feature for the first time in the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines.