ITU President Marisol Casado has reflected upon a profitable Executive Board meeting in Luxor ©Getty Images

Future competition structures and rules, the road to Tokyo 2020 and governance were all discussed during a two-day meeting of the International Triathlon Union's (ITU) Executive Board in Luxor.

The meeting in the ancient Egyptian city was tied in to the Congress of the African Triathlon Union, the Francophonie annual meeting and the African Duathlon Championships.

Two recently re-elected members of the ITU  Athletes' Committee were in attendance - Lisa Norden of Sweden, the former world champion and London 2012 silver medallist, and Tamás Tóth of Hungary.

The International Triathlon Union Executive Committee met in Luxor ©ITU
The International Triathlon Union Executive Committee met in Luxor ©ITU

"These have been a few days of intensive work planning and defining the direction of our organisation to succeed and excel in the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games," said ITU President and International Olympic Committee member Marisol Casado.

"We made some adaptations to the competition rules, approved the Paralympic qualification ranking and calendar, as well as defining the competition structure for the next years.

"I feel really confident that with the work that we have been doing during last year, and the commitment from all the Board members and the ITU staff, we will continue to push our organisation even further so that we can continue to inspire more people, to attract new generations of athletes and face the next Olympic cycle in the strongest possible position."

One of the main topics of the Executive Board meeting was the review of the Strategic Plan 2018-2021, including a revision of the constitution to adapt it to the new times.

Time was also spent approving some provisions in the 2019 budget for a redesign of the TriathlonLive platform, Paratriathlon projects, anti-doping and development of the sport.

The Board also took note of the new rankings and the qualification criteria for the 2020 Paralympic Games, a period due to to start in June 2019 and will extend until June 2020.

Sweden's Lisa Norden, pictured at the London 2012 medal ceremony, was one of the members of the Athletes' Committee present at the recent ITU Executive Board meeting in Luxor ©Getty Images
Sweden's Lisa Norden, pictured at the London 2012 medal ceremony, was one of the members of the Athletes' Committee present at the recent ITU Executive Board meeting in Luxor ©Getty Images  

A vote to launch a process from now until August 2019 to review the competition structure for the period of 2021 to 2024 was approved, with the aim of continuing efforts to expand the sport at the Paris 2024 Games.

The Executive Board also addressed some changes in the rules, and covered the latest reports of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as reviewing the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

Technical delegates were also appointed for Tokyo 2020.

There are due to be further detailed announcements to follow in the coming days regarding Paralympic qualification, the rule changes and an update on Tokyo 2020.