Qualification
Qualification spots in the triathlon are allotted to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) rather than to individual athletes.
There are five ways for NOCs to earn spots in the triathlon. NOCs can earn a maximum of three spots, though only nine nations may earn that many. Nations beyond that may earn only two spots. If a nation would be the tenth or later to earn a third spot, it loses that spot.
The first five spots go to the winners of the five regional qualifying tournaments. Three more spots go to the top three triathletes of the most recent Triathlon World Championships, though any athlete that won a regional tournament is skipped in that determination. The next 39 places go to the NOCs of those athletes highest in the ITU ranking (again, skipping those athletes that have already qualified in the first two methods). A forty-eighth place is awarded to the host country if it has not already received a spot, or to the next highest ranked athlete if the host country has. The final two places are awarded by the Tripartite Commission.
Read more about this topic: Triathlon At The Summer Olympics