SARASOTA, Fla.—Canada’s triathletes racked up seven medals on a wild weekend at the America’s Triathlon Cup races in Sarasota, Florida where Mother Nature stole the show.
Heavy rains that delayed the start of the races one day turned into cold temperatures with gusty winds on Sunday as more than 30 Canadian athletes unofficially kicked off their competitive seasons in all race categories.
Emy Legault (Ile Perrot, Que.) won a silver medal in the women’s elite race with a time of 32:50.1.
“The whole weekend was about staying calm and managing all the changes thrown at us. I had a great start and I was able to place myself towards the front of the field in the water and stay away from trouble,” said Legault.
“With a quick T1, I managed to escape with Kirsten Kasper, Rachel Klamer, Vitoria Lopes and Barbara De Koenig. The girls worked very well and very hard on the bike to gain some more time on the chasers.
“On the run Kirsten and I pulled away from the other girls and we ran a very hard 2.5k attacking each other. In the end she was a little faster at the finish and I came in a close second.”
Legault finished three seconds behind Kirsten Kasper, of the United States, who took top spot with a time of 32:47.0. Rachel Klamer, of The Netherlands, was third with a time of 32:55.4.
Quebec’s Charles Paquet was the top Canadian in the men’s race with a time of 29:39.5.
Richard Murray, of South Africa, was golden at 29:14.1.
Quebec’s Noemie Beaulieu and Mathis Beaulieu both ran onto the podium in the junior race categories.
Noemie Beaulieu dusted the field by 15 seconds in the junior women’s race, winning with a time of 31:15.1. Two Americans finished second and third. Naomi Ruff won the silver at 31:31.8, while Faith Dasso claimed the bronze in a time of 31:49.9.
Mathis Beaulieu snagged the silver in the junior men’s race with a time of 28;05.7. The young Canuck was sandwiched on the podium between Luke Anthony (United States) in the gold medal spot with a time of 27:59.5 and Mexico’s Miguel Madina who clocked-in at 28:14.4 for third.
Canadians Win Four Medals in America’s Paratriathlon Cup Race
Jessica Tuomela (Sault Ste Marie, Ont.) and her new guide Emma Skaug (Victoria) led the Canadians in a four-trip day to the Para-triathlon podium in Sarasota. The Canadian duo won the gold medal in the women’s visually impaired category.
Tuomela clocked a winning time of 1:08:55.5 in the sprint distance race.
“Yesterday was a tornado warning. Today it was freezing with fairly windy conditions when we arrived at race venue, but it’s all just part of the sport and why we do it and why we love it,” said Tuomela. “It was my first race with Emma as my guide. It takes a lot to be a well oiled team, but I think we did great and I’m really excited to see where this new, a strong partnership will take us.”
“The communication between Jess and I was really solid and we were calm and composed throughout the whole race,” added Skaug. “For my first time as a guide my number one goal was to help Jess though the race safely and strongly, and to nail the small details in transition. I think we did that, and I’m stoked to get back out to make everything even smoother.”
The Canadians topped two Americans. Deborah Chucoski was second at 1:18:39.7. McClain Hermes claimed the bronze with a time of 1:27:37.
Winnipeg’s Leanne Taylor battled through the varied conditions to win the silver medal in the women’s sitting race category. Taylor, who began triathlon in 2019, stopped the clock at 1:14:07.7.
“I was really happy with my race. I was third coming into T2 and about 30 seconds out from second place. I knew I had to carefully navigate the beginning of the run which was more technical, but the back side of the course had a long straight away where I was able to overtake the athlete in second and put enough space between us to secure a second place finish,” said Taylor.
“This winter we put in some hard work on the bike which required making some sacrifices in other areas of the sport. I was happy to see that work pay off today. I’m looking forward to spending more time on the bike this summer to continue developing and hopefully earning more podium finishes in the future.”
Brazil’s Jessica Ferreira won the classification with a time of 1:10:54.5. Mexico’s Brenda Osnaya Alvarez claimed the bronze at 1:15:56.2.
Calgary’s Stefan Daniel also got his new quadrennial off to a medal-winning start while slowly building back into race form in the challenging conditions.
“Just doing a race today was a win for me. I know where I’m at and I’m excited to continue to progress through the season,” said Daniel. “I came down here just to pick up some needed points. I didn’t have many expectations for myself, and just wanted to get into the groove of racing again. My goal today was to try and have a good swim and bike, and then tone things down on the run to keep my running injury rehab on track. I was able to do that successfully and I’m happy I was able to listen to my support team and not over do things.”
The two-time Paralympic medallist mixed together a bronze medal performance in the men’s standing classification with a time of 59:38.9.
“I had a good swim and came out with the two leaders. I lost some time on the bike to the Brazilian and the Chris (Hammer) was gaining on me as well but I just tried to focus on having a high cadence and no upper body movement,” added Daniel. “I had to take things a bit easier on the run, so I just tried to get into a good rhythm. Chris caught me with about 1.5k to go, and I was able to settle for third.
Brazil’s Ronan Cordeiro won the division with a time of 58:04.7. Chris Hammer, of the United States, was second at 59:14.2.
Montreal’s Hicham Boufekane was second in the men’s PTS3 division. Boufekane completed the sprint course in a time of 1:43:00.1.
“It was a first for me, so it was a perfect opportunity to gain experience,” said Boufekane. “Things didn’t go exactly as expected but it was a great learning opportunity and will help a lot moving forward with my triathlon career!”
Christopher Marson, of the United States, won the division with a time of 1:15:40.2.
Pierre Ouellet was the only other Canadian to suit up in the Paratriathlon races, finishing sixth in the men’s PTW6 category.
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