News Good organisation, a technically challenging course, beautiful landscapes and passionate support – these were the things highlighted by some of the world’s leading triathletes and paratriathletes after their Rio 2016 test event was successfully staged in Copacabana this weekend (1-2 August) About 60 athletes took part in Saturday’s paratriathlon event, while Sunday’s triathlon competition – which doubled up as a qualifier for the Olympic Games – attracted 150 of the best male and female competitors on the planet It proved an invaluable opportunity to test themselves on the course that will be used for the main events next year “This is a spectacular setting for triathlon, in all ways – for the beautiful landscape, the course itself and the public who came to support,” said Spain’s world no 1 Javier Gomez, who won the men’s event Great Britain’s Adam Bowden, who finished 12th, was also impressed “The support was phenomenal and the organisation was amazing It’s a really good course and everything was spot on ”France’s Vincent Luis, who came in second, particularly enjoyed the atmosphere “There were a lot Brazilians calling my name, which was nice,” he said “It was nice to race in such a great atmosphere And the organisation was good, no problems at all ” The general consensus was that swimming in the sea – rather than in a lake or river – and a cycling section that features a steep climb and descent, which must be navigated eight times, present the main technical challenges However, women’s bronze medallist Vicky Holland, of Great Britain, said the flat running section along the promenade was “potentially the toughest part of the course” as it was “quite mentally taxing” Holland described the course “good, hard and really honest” and added: “In terms of organisation, everything ran very smoothly and I cannot fault it It’s a buzzing city and I can only imagine that next year it’s going to be like this but times 10 ”Holland’s compatriot and housemate Non Stanford, who took silver, said: “The sea swim was really good – I really enjoyed it That was my best swim in a very long time, if not ever ”Competitors were full of praise for the passionate support they received from the locals (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro) For the paratriathletes, Copacabana is the perfect setting for the debut of their sport in the Paralympic Games next year “This is the most iconic beach in the world and Rio is an impressive city To be here for the debut of triathlon in the Paralympic Games will be an important moment for me,” said Germany’s Mike Schulz, who won the PT4 class For the public, the test event was a taster of the excitement that will take over the city next year “We are really excited about next year,” said Robson Oliveira, who lives in Copacabana “It’s great to be here, up close, with all these people, and see these great athletes, all this joy in our back yard ”In total, about 530 people, including Rio 2016 staff and volunteers, worked on the events “The test event structure is smaller than that for the Games, but it allowed us to see what works and what we can improve,” said Rodrigo Garcia, Rio 2016’s sport director “For example,  we are already thinking of ways to bring the spectators closer to the athletes, like extending the deck in the direction of the sand, and of ways to better use the barriers to leave the competition area cleaner ”Check out the best images from the triathlon test event in our gallery below: