Canada’s Stefan Daniel races to gold at the World Para Triathlon Series in Montreal
Canadian Para-triathletes Stefan Daniel and Kamylle Frenette both took the podium on home soil at the World Para Triathlon Series event in Montreal on Saturday.
Daniel took gold in the men’s PTS5 race, while Frenette took bronze on the women’s side in the same standings to kick off the Paralympic qualifying period.
Daniel, a two-time Paralympic medalist from Calgary, performed well during the hot race, winning with a time of 57 minutes and 24 seconds. He finished the 750 meter swim in 10:40, the 20 kilometer cycle in 28:26 and the 5 km run in 16:56.
“I’m happy to have won and can start qualifying for Paris 2024 [period] very well,” said Daniel in a release. “The race was pretty tough today. I knew when I went in that the heat and humidity would be a big factor.”
The 26-year-old business student at the University of Calgary was born with bilateral radial club hands.
We spoke to Carla Nicholls, the high-performance lead of Athletics Canada, who let us know that the team is hungry to put on a show for Canada and #FightToTheFinish at the World Para Athletics Championships.
Daniel followed Portugal’s Filipe Marques swimming in the Olympic Basin, but rode ahead on the bike at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Daniel held on for victory during the run at Parc Jean-Drapeau. His father, brother and cousin were there to cheer him on.
“The bike felt controlled and smooth. I’ve been riding a lot lately to prepare for half an Ironman in a few weeks, so I’m happy with how the bike felt,” said Daniel. “The course was so much fun, you barely have to touch your brakes, which was great.
“I just had to hold on during the flight. Luckily I had enough of a lead over the other guys to hold them off. It was a tough race but I’m looking forward to continuing to progress for the big races later this year. .”
US Chris Hammer finished second in 57:37, followed by Brazil’s Ronan Cordeiro (57:42).
‘Nice to race on home soil’
Frenette reached her first World Para Triathlon Series podium of the season later in the day, battling to a third-place finish with a time of 1:06:40.
The Dieppe, NB native led the field after a strong swim and maintained a position on the podium through the cycling and running sections.
“Today was all about executing the plan, and I feel like I did, which is a big win,” said Frenette, who turned 27 on Tuesday. “I surprised myself in the swim and came up short on the bike, but managed to close the gap a bit in the run.
American Grace Norman continued her dominance in the PTS5 standings, topping the podium in 1:03:06. Great Britain’s Lauren Steadman finished ahead of Frenette for silver (1:05:05).
Frenette won bronze at the 2022 World Championships and finished fourth at the 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo.
LOOK | Atletiek Noord – Frenette takes broken bicycle for running at Para-Triathlon Cup:
Reigning world champion in the 200m Noah Lyles kept his winning streak alive, para-triathlete Kamylle Frenette suffered a bike malfunction that forced her to run 4km on her bike. This and more in our weekly recap of Atletiek Noord.
Winnipeg’s Leanne Taylor just missed out on the podium in the women’s wheelchair division, finishing fourth with a time of 1:08:20.
In other Canadian results, Jessica Tuomela of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and her guide from Victoria, Emma Skaug, finished fifth in the women’s visually impaired race (1:12:02), while Hicham Boufekane placed sixth in the men’s PTS3 race (1:42:10) .
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