HUATULCO, Mex.— Quebecers Mathis Beaulieu had the race of his life, shocking the world to win his first career World Triathlon Cup medal, taking the silver on Sunday morning in Huatulco, Mexico.
Competing in his first year at the senior level, the 19-year-old beat the heat and all but one in a deep field of 52 athletes at one of the most prestigious triathlon races on the World Cup circuit. The rising Canadian triathlete exercised his swim, bike and run tactics to near perfection, surging to a silver-medal pace of 58:15.
“This race was just magical,” beamed the youngster from Quebec City. “It feels so good. Every sacrifice that I have made is paying off today.”
Beaulieu came out of the choppy, 750-metre beach-start swim in 35th spot, 20 seconds behind the front runners leading the field into the first transition. He and his Canadian mates, Brock Hoel (West Kelowna, B.C.) and Liam Donnelly (Campbellville, Ont.) settled into a large pack of 38 athletes that formed a train riding through the streets of Huatulco.
“The swim was a fight. I was just trying to get with that first pack. I thought (heading into the race) if I could get on the first pack, this was possible,” said Beaulieu. “There is usually a breakaway here, but I worked hard to get back on the front and then decided to just stay at the back and wait and then kick it on the run. When I saw the everyone (in the front pack), I said ‘today is my chance.’”
It sure was.
Shaking off a chaotic second transition where he was stuck in 34th place with athletes falling in front of him while the large pack parked their bikes and scrambled to get their feet into running shoes, Beaulieu quickly turned on the afterburners and began picking his way through the elite field on the 5-kilometre run. He bolted his way into podium position after the first of two laps, running shoulder-to-shoulder in a group of three for third spot.
Beaulieu wasn’t content with just a spot on the podium. He dusted off John Reed (USA) and Bece Bicsak (Hungary) and made a charge for gold while continuing his sizzling Sunday morning run. Charging down the finishing stretch pumping his fists, Beaulieu ran out of real estate, finishing eight seconds back of the race winner – Richard Murray, of The Netherlands (58:07).
The American Reed won the race for the bronze medal at 58:21.
“It was just an unreal feeling crossing the finish line,” said Beaulieu. “I didn’t know if I had the legs to do it. I am now running with (the top names) and it gave me the confidence that I can stay with the best in the world.”
The Huatulco World Cup has been good to Team Canada. Two-time Olympian, Tyler Mislawchuk, has two World Cup victories and two silver medals on the demanding course in Mexico. Emy Legault, also celebrated her lone World Cup podium – a silver – at the 2022 Huatulco race.
Sunday’s triumph was another benchmark achieved in the impressive development of Beaulieu. The Quebec teen burst onto the international triathlon scene in 2022 where enjoyed a golden run, winning five straight junior races including a senior win in Stockton, Missouri and two junior victories in Europe. He continued his electric pace into 2023 where he won a bronze medal at the World Triathlon Sprint & Relay Championships in Hamburg, Germany. He also reached the bronze medal step of the Americas Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships in Huatulco, was second at the Americas Triathlon Cup in Ixtapa and captured three individual victories including the National Championship title in Montreal.
Two of the other four Canucks in the field on Sunday, who were part of Canada’s bronze-medal winning relay team at the 2023 Pan Am Games, also cracked the top-15. Liam Donnelly bolted to a career-best 10th place finish with a time of 58:47. Brock Hoel matched his top World Cup result, placing 12th at 58:53. Montreal’s Filip Mainville was 26th at 59:44. Victoria’s Clayton Hutchins was 34th at 1:00:40.
In Saturday evening’s women’s race, Sophia Howell, put up another top-20 finish. The 22-year-old from Airdrie, Alta. battled through the intense heat to complete the sprint distance course in a time of 1:06:09.
“I’m happy to get another top-20 in a pretty competitive World Cup field,” said Howell, who came out of the water in second place. “I felt good in the swim and played it safe on the bike to make sure I was in good position going into the corners and transition. I had a good first lap on the run, but definitely started to suffer a bit with the heat. It was a hard race from start-to-finish but overall I’m happy with the performance.”
Denmark’s Alberte Kjaer Pedersen outsprinted Rachel Klamer, of The Netherlands, who was second and Norway’s Solveig Lovseth (bronze medal) for the victory.
Canada’s Dominika Jamnicky and Maïra Carreau did not finish.
Complete World Triathlon Cup Huatulco Results:
ABOUT TRIATHLON CANADA
Triathlon Canada is the governing body of the sport in the country. Triathlon Canada’s more than 22,000 members include athletes, coaches and officials from the grassroots to elite levels. With the support of its valued corporate partners – 94 FORWARD, Training Peaks, Subaru Canada, Z3R0D, Aquaman, Tribe Solutions, Champion System Canada, BOCO Gear Canada, ZiZU Optics, Outway Performance Socks, SCICON, SportShare, WestJet and FulGaz – along with the City of Victoria, Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, and Own the Podium, Triathlon Canada develops Olympic, Paralympic and World Champions in all race disciplines. For more information on Triathlon Canada, please visit us at www.triathloncanada.com.