SALINAS, Ecuador—Canada’s Brock Hoel won the silver medal in a CAMTRI Youth Olympic Games qualifying race on Sunday in Salinas, Ecuador.
The Kelowna, B.C. teen finished just three seconds off the gold-medal pace after clocking a time of 57:08 in the sprint distance race against many of the world’s best triathletes 18 and under.
“It was 110 per cent mental today, but I did it,” beamed Hoel. “I was really happy with my swim. What a hard bike ride. I felt like I was maxed out on the second lap of the run, and really had to fight for every step. I found that extra gear on that final stretch sprinted as hard as I could for the silver medal.”
When the dust finally settled in the finish corral, the young Canuck finished three seconds back of Mexico’s Javier Antonio De La Pena Schott who won with a time of 57:05. Andrew Schellenberger, of the United States, held on in the final lap to cross the line five seconds back of Hoel in third at 57:13
Hoel was solid in the 750-metre swim, coming out of the water just 10 seconds behind the leaders. He wasted little time breaking away from his pack in the first lap of the 20-kilometre bike ride where he was able to bridge up to the two frontrunners. He played a short game of cat and mouse with the leaders before getting dropped. Struggling to keep pace on the punishing ride, Hoel was caught by the chase pack on the final lap.
Charging out of second transition 43 seconds behind the leader, Hoel dug deep to reel in 15 seconds on the top athlete in the first of three laps on the five-kilometre run. Steadily closing the gap, the young Canuck and Mexico’s De La Pena Schott were in a head-to-head sprint around the final loop where they caught Schellenberger heading down the finishing stretch for a three-way showdown for the medals.
Canada’s other finishers in the men’s race included Solen Wood placing 13th (59:10); and Keagan Ingram 48th (1:05:06).
Alexandrine Coursol was the lone Canadian in the youth women’s race, finishing 27th at 1:07:49.
Maryhelen Albright, of the United States, was first to cross the finish line with a time of 1:01:40.
The 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games is scheduled to take place in Buenos Aires, October 6-18. Triathlon Canada, in conjuction with the Canadian Olympic Committee, will name the team of athletes selected to compete in the triathlon race later this summer.
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