PONTEVEDRA, Esp.—Martin Sobey capped a breakthrough season on Sunday with a solid 12th-place finish at the World Triathlon Championship Series Grand Final in Pontevedra, Spain.
Fresh off his 30th birthday earlier this month, the pride of Charlottetown, P.E.I. celebrated his best result at the premier championship event in a non-Olympic year, showcasing the strength and consistency that have defined his 2026 campaign with a strong bike effort and another gutsy 10-kilometre run to move steadily through the field and finish in 1:41:19.
“I’m really happy to finish 12th at my first elite Grand Final. The energy and atmosphere was insane and a career highlight,” said Sobey.
The result adds another significant milestone to a season that has seen Sobey match career-best seventh-place finishes on the World Triathlon Championship Series in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, and Yokohama, Japan.
“I’m super happy with my progress this season and proud of my work and focus,” he added.
Sobey emerged from the 1.5-kilometre swim on Sunday in 34th position and started the nine-lap, 40-kilometre bike course in the second chase group. Riding near the back of the 63-man field, he helped his group bridge to the chase pack after just two laps.
He exited the bike in 37th before unleashing another trademark run.
As athletes began to pay the price for the punishing bike course, Sobey steadily picked off competitors over the three-lap, 10-kilometre run. By the time he reached the finish stretch, he had moved all the way into 12th place to secure his best Grand Final result.
Australia’s Matthew Hauser claimed the Grand Final title in 1:39:31, edging Portugal’s Vasco Vilaça in a photo finish. Great Britain’s Alex Yee was third in 1:39:35.
Olympian Charles Paquet was the only other Canadian in the elite men’s race. The Port-Cartier, Que. athlete was among the leaders through the swim and bike before running out of gas on the difficult run, and finished 36th in 1:43:49.
Sobey’s performance capped a strong season for the Canadian triathlon team, which has produced a series of breakthrough results across the World Triathlon calendar.
Earlier in the Grand Final week, West Vancouver’s Sidney Clement ran her way into the history books, becoming just the sixth Canadian athlete to reach the podium at the U23 World Championships, earning bronze.
Sobey was part of Canada’s silver-medal-winning mixed relay team at the World Triathlon Cup in Edmonton and helped Canada to bronze in Chengdu, China.
Three-time Olympian Tyler Mislawchuk also battled to his second career bronze medal on the elite triathlon series, while Paquet recorded the first World Triathlon Championship Series podium of his career earlier this season with a bronze-medal performance in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Earlier on Sunday, a Canadian team of Alexandra Campbell, Robi Racine, Maira Carreau and Nico Stockwell combined to finish 18h in the U23-Junior Mixed Relay, clocking a time of 1:11:32.
Paralympic medallists, Leanne Taylor (Oak Bluff, Man.) and Stefan Daniel (Calgary) teamed up with Victoria’s Margot Wehrle and her guide Elani Bykowski (Lethbridge, Alta. – Guide) placed seventh in the Para Triathlon Mixed Relay with a time of 51:45.
