LONG BEACH, USA—Two of Canada’s development triathletes climbed onto the podium of the America’s Cup in Long Beach on Sunday.
Prince Edward Island’s Martin Sobey jumped onto the silver-medal step of the podium, while Pavlos Antoniades grabbed the bronze.
“I am really happy to put together a solid race today across the swim, bike and run,” said the 25-year-old Sobey, who will be representing Canada at the Commonwealth Games at the end of July. “This is just the result I needed to give me a confidence boost heading into Commonwealth Games.”
Sobey came up just shy of his second America’s Cup victory in his career, crossing the line with a time of 52:02, just one second behind winner Davis Bove of the United States (52:01).
Sobey and Antoniades were part of a small group that got away on the bike after a solid 750-metre swim, but were eventually caught by the chase pack five kilometres ahead of second transition.
“The run was quite tactical and I just came up a bit short in the final sprint,” added Sobey.
The 21-year-old Antoniades capitalized on his opportunity of being at the front of the pack in the swim, working with his teammate throughout the next two stages of the race to make a charge for his first career America’s Cup podium.
“That solid swim put me with the leaders at the start of the bike. We were a small group working hard to maintain our lead but entered T2 with the chasers. It all came down to a fast run which I think I played well,” said Antoniades.
He sure did.
The young Quebecer dug deep to keep pace with the frontrunners. He stopped the clock at 52:04 to secure second place.
“This podium means a lot to me,” said Antoniades. “It can be a challenge to juggle training, racing and medical school but I’m doing my best to maintain a balance.”
Liam Donnelly, of Campbellville, Ont., was sixth at 52:10. Montreal’s Filip Mainville placed ninth at 52:30, while Tristen Jones, of Peterborough, Ont., grabbed the final spot in the top-10 with a time of 52:34.
Noémie Beaulieu, of Gatineau, Que., was the lone Canadian in the top-10 of the women’s race. One week removed from winning her first Canadian Championship title, Beaulieu punched the clock at 1:00:49 for sixth spot in the sprint distance format.
Gina Sereno, of the United States, finished on top of the podium with a time of 1:00:08. Mexico’s Jimena Renata Schott was second at 1:00:10, while Bermuda’s Erica Hawley ran to the bronze medal with a time of 1:00:26.
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