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Americas Triathlon

World Triathlon’s continental confederation for the Americas, formerly PATCO and CAMTRI, which states it was established on 9 May 1992 in San Andrés, Colombia; it runs the Americas Triathlon Championships and Cups.
✓ Last reviewed: October 2026
Established9 May 1992, at the first PATCO Congress in San Andrés, Colombia, as the confederation states[2]
Earlier namesPanamerican Triathlon Confederation (PATCO); CAMTRI — both used in its own documents[5]
World bodyWorld Triathlon, which lists it as one of five continental confederations[7]
PresidentLíber García (Uruguay)[4]
Senior championshipThe Americas Triathlon Championships; first held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on 29 August 1997, per the confederation[2]
Pan American GamesTriathlon is on the Lima 2027 programme[10]

What is Americas Triathlon?

Americas Triathlon is the continental confederation of World Triathlon for North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. World Triathlon’s federations page names it among its five continental confederations, alongside Africa Triathlon, Asia Triathlon, Europe Triathlon and Oceania Triathlon.[7] Its website is a sub-site of World Triathlon’s, carrying the line “Powered by World Triathlon”.[1]

The confederation states its mission as to “create, support and improve sustainable programs that develop the quality and fairness of athletes, coaches, technical officers and events in the Americas; as well as the professionalism of the National Federations”.[3] Its about page, under the heading Panamerican Triathlon Confederation, is the source for its founding account.[2] It covers triathlon and the multisport disciplines that World Triathlon governs; long-distance racing under the IRONMAN brand and the PTO’s T100 World Tour are privately run and sit outside the confederation’s events. Its own site states no legal form, and its constitution could not be retrieved.

What does Americas Triathlon govern or do?

Americas Triathlon does not write the sport’s rules; competition rules, Olympic qualification and world rankings run through World Triathlon and its national federations. The continental confederation runs the continental layer: its home page presents the Americas Triathlon Cup and Americas Triathlon Junior Cup circuits, development regional cups and the regional CARIFTA championships, and links to World Triathlon’s continental rankings.[1]

Development is a large part of the work. Its documents page carries the “2025-2028 World Triathlon - Americas Triathlon Development Agreement - 2026 Plan & Budget”, added on 15 May 2026.[5] Its stated vision is to support triathlon development by empowering national federations and regions, growing the number and quality of triathletes and events in the Americas; an older goal on the same page refers to increasing the number of “CAMTRI countries” at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.[3] World Triathlon’s governance page lists continental confederation agreements among its governing documents.[11]

When was Americas Triathlon founded and where is it based?

The confederation’s about page states that the Panamerican Triathlon Confederation was established on 9 May 1992, at the first PATCO Congress, held on the island of San Andrés, Colombia, and that “development of the Confederation began three years earlier, at the inaugural ITU Congress in Avignon, France”.[2] No independent source for the 1992 date could be retrieved.

The body has used three names. Its own document archive files congress minutes from 2009 to 2014 as PATCO Congress Minutes and junior championship documents from 2015 to 2017 under the name CAMTRI; it now publishes as Americas Triathlon.[5] The dates of the two renamings could not be established from a retrieved source.

Its contacts page lists staff email addresses but no postal address or legal seat.[6] The executive board listed on 1 October 2026 is led by Líber García (Uruguay), president, with Karen Araujo (Trinidad and Tobago), vice-president, Nelly Becerra (Mexico), secretary general, and Kerly Mora (Ecuador), treasurer, and six board members from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, the United States, Guatemala and Argentina.[4]

How is Americas Triathlon recognised?

Its recognition comes from World Triathlon, which names Americas Triathlon among its five continental confederations and maps its 167 member national federations across them.[7] World Triathlon’s governance page links its constitution and a set of continental confederation agreements; both sit in a document library whose text could not be retrieved, so the article of the constitution that recognises the confederations is not quoted here.[11] The working tie is documented by the 2025–2028 development agreement between World Triathlon and Americas Triathlon, whose 2026 plan and budget the confederation published in May 2026.[5]

Americas Triathlon has no IOC recognition of its own: World Triathlon is the IOC-recognised world body for the sport. At continental multi-sport level, triathlon is on the programme of the Lima 2027 Pan American Games (23 July–8 August 2027), as Panam Sports lists the Games.[10] The confederation’s archive holds its documents for the 2011 Guadalajara and 2015 Toronto Pan American Games triathlon events.[5] The Lima 2027 triathlon qualification system could not be retrieved.

What does Americas Triathlon organise?

Americas Triathlon runs a senior continental championship, the Americas Triathlon Championships. Its about page records the first championship in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on 29 August 1997.[2] Triathlon Canada’s reports confirm the editions held in Montevideo, Uruguay, in October 2022, with elite, under-23 and junior races, and in Calima, Colombia, in June 2025, with elite and under-23 races over the Olympic distance and a mixed relay.[9][8] The most recent edition was held in Antofagasta, Chile, on 4–5 July 2026, with elite, under-23, junior, youth, age-group and paratriathlon races and an elite mixed relay, according to USA Triathlon and World Triathlon.[12][13] No fixed frequency is stated in a retrieved source.

Below the championship sit the Americas Triathlon Cup and Junior Cup circuits and the development regional cups.[1] Separate junior continental championships were held in earlier years: the archive holds documents for the Pan American Junior Triathlon Championships of 2011 and 2012 (Edmonton), 2013 (Vila Velha) and 2014 (Dallas), and the CAMTRI Junior Championships of 2015 (Monterrey), 2016 (West Des Moines) and 2017 (Magog).[5]

Who are its members?

Members are the national triathlon federations of the Americas affiliated to World Triathlon. The confederation’s about page, an older text that refers to its 2010 championship as scheduled, states: “There are currently 38 National Federation members of PATCO.”[2] No current figure from the confederation could be retrieved. World Triathlon gives 167 member national federations across its five confederations, without a breakdown by confederation on its federations page.[7]

Members include USA Triathlon, the Confederação Brasileira de Triathlon, the Federación Argentina de Triatlón, the Federación Mexicana de Triatlón and the Federación Colombiana de Triatlón; the executive board draws its members from ten national federations, from the United States to Uruguay.[4] Canadian athletes raced at the 2022 and 2025 championships, Triathlon Canada’s reports show.[8]

References

  1. Americas Triathlon — official site, home page (events and circuits). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  2. Americas Triathlon — About: Panamerican Triathlon Confederation (founding, first championship, members). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  3. Americas Triathlon — Goals, Vision & Mission. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  4. Americas Triathlon — Executive Board. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  5. Americas Triathlon — Documents (development agreement, congress minutes, junior championships, Pan American Games). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  6. Americas Triathlon — Contacts. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  7. World Triathlon — Federations: the five continental confederations and member federations. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  8. Triathlon Canada — “Young Canucks Celebrate Medal Hat Trick at Americas Triathlon Championships”, 10 June 2025 (Calima, Colombia). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  9. Triathlon Canada — Americas Triathlon Championships in Montevideo, Uruguay, 29 October 2022. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  10. Panam Sports — Lima 2027 Pan American Games: dates and sports programme. Accessed 2026-10-01.
  11. World Triathlon — Governance (constitution and continental confederation agreements). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  12. USA Triathlon — “USA Tri athletes Vannerson, Orie win 2026 Americas Triathlon Championships titles in Chile”, 6 July 2026 (Antofagasta, 4–5 July 2026). Accessed 2026-10-01.
  13. World Triathlon — “Antofagasta coronó a los mejores de América en el Americas Triathlon & Para Championships 2026”, 6 July 2026. Accessed 2026-10-01.