HAMBURG, GER—Emy Legault continued her dream season with a career-best 10th-place finish at the World Triathlon Championship Series race on the iconic course in Hamburg, Germany on Saturday.
The 26-year-old took on 55 of the best female triathletes on the planet to clock a time of 59:11 in the sprint distance test. Legault’s previous best finish on the elite triathlon circuit came two weeks ago on the streets of Old Montreal where she was 12th.
“It feels awesome. I didn’t think it was possible . I was just hoping for another top-20, but a top-10, I just can’t believe it. This season has been really emotional,” said Legault, who will represent Canada at the Commonwealth Games at the end of the month.
The speedster from Ile Perrot, Que. rebounded from a shaky start, diving in Binnenalster Lake a second after the gun went off for the 750-metre swim. The determined Canuck found the fast line on the right side of the pack and powered her way through swim course which features a 40-metre tunnel section under the pedestrian bridge on the way back to the transition area stretched out in front of the famed Rathaus.
“I don’t know what happen when the horn went. A few of us girls didn’t dive in right away, but when I came out of the water I could see a lot of good swimmers in front of me so I thought I was probably in a good spot,” she added.
Well positioned indeed. Legault charged onto the bike in 18th spot, working the first two laps of the technical 21-kilometre test in the chase pack. A group of 15 riders formed for the final four laps on the pedals to set up a foot race for the podium.
“We worked very hard to get our bike back. It took about five kilometres and then I just tried to conserve my energy, and be as smart as I could,” said Legault, who entered T2 at the back of the lead group. “It was really hard to move up. Those girls all know what they are doing because they’ve been at this level for a while so I just tried to feed off them and stay in the best position I could.”
The drama cranked up on the five-kilometre run course where the Canadian was maintaining pace with the biggest names in the sport.
“I wasn’t in the best position going into T2, but when I started running, I just tried to get in the best place that I could. I was running 7th until the final kilometre and some of the girls started coming back on me. I tried to stay in single digits, but it didn’t quite work out. I didn’t have much left.”
The reigning Olympic champion, Flora Duffy of Bermuda, ran away from the field to secure her fourth title of her career in Hamburg, winning with a time of 58:37.
Beth Potter, of Great Britain, hung on for the silver medal at 48:43, while Germany’s Lisa Tertsch won the race for the bronze with a time of 58:53.
Dominika Jamnicky, of Guelph, Ont., was the only other Canadian in the women’s field and finished 47th at 1:03:15.
The 2022 season has been quite a stretch for Legault and her coach Kyla Rollinson. Legault has been in the hunt for the medals each time she hits the start line at all levels of the sport. She also won three silver medals earlier this spring in America’s Cup races while lining up against some of the top names in the sport before capturing her first career World Cup podium one month ago when she finished second in Huatulco. Legault thrilled the hometown crowd in Quebec at the end of June with a 12th place finish in the individual, one day before leading the Canadians to an impressive fifth-place finish in the mixed relay event.
“We haven’t been doing anything different – just been working really hard and I think it has just been the consistency,” she said. “These results are years of consistency and getting all of the training right. I have a lot still to experience at this level, but each race it is just getting better and better.”
Two Canadians suited up for the men’s race. Brock Hoel, of Kelowna, B.C., was 49th in his first career World Triathlon Championship Series race. Hoel clocked-in at 57:10. Jeremy Briand, of Sainte-Julie, Que., was 51st at 57:48.
New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde won the men’s race with a time of 53:10. Australia’s Matthew Hauser ran to second spot at 53:13, while Morocco’s Jawad Abdelmoula locked up the final spot on the podium with a time of 53:26.
The Canadians will be back on the start line Sunday for the mixed relay event.