MONTREAL.—Quebec’s Maïra Carreau and British Columbia’s Clayton Hutchins etched their names in the history books as 2023 Elite Canadian Champions while finishing second overall in the Americas Triathlon Cup race Saturday morning in Montreal.
Carreau will go down as the elite and U23 women’s Canadian Champion in 2023 after clocking a time of 58:22 in the 750-metre swim in the Olympic basin before a 20-kilometre bike on the Gilles Villeneuve Formula 1 track followed by a five-kilometre sprint through Parc Jean Drapeau.
Carreau, a 20-year-old from La Prairie, Que., finished seven seconds back of Bermuda’s Erica Hawley in the overall Americas Triathlon Cup results that featured 39 women.
“I’m pretty happy with my race today. My goal was to finish top-five overall so I surpassed my expectations,” said Carreau, who had a good start in the swim and stayed comfortably at the front of the first pack on the bike and out of trouble.
“I knew there was a lot of good runners in the pack so I told myself that I needed to nail T2 and get out first. Once the girls caught me on the run it was strategic. We were in a group of five, with three Canadians, so my focus was on the three Canadians. I started to accelerate with 400m to go. When I heard my friends ad family cheering, I dug a little deeper to sprint and win the Canadian Championship.”
Bermuda’s Erica Hawley won the race overall with a time fo 58:15. Manitoba’s Anja Krueger locked up third place overall at 58:23.
Clayton Hutchins, who has Canadian-American citizenship and joined the National Performance Centre in the spring, was the top male Canuck in a field of 46 athletes with at time of 55:22.
“The click finally happened today,” said the elated 27-year-old Hutchins. “I was able to execute a strong and controlled race. It is an incredible experience representing the maple leaf and winning a National Championship. It is something I do not take for granted.”
Hutchins finished just two seconds off the golden pace set by American Zach Leachman, who broke the finishing tape with a time of 52:20. Ontario’s Liam Donnelly placed third overall after completing the course in a time of 52:25.
Canadian Championship Divisional Podiums
Women’s Elite Podium
Gold – Maïra Carreau (Quebec)
Silver – Anna Krueger (Manitoba)
Bronze – Emy Legault (Quebec)
Men’s Elite Podium
Gold – Clayton Hutchins (British Columbia)
Silver – Liam Donnelly (Ontario)
Bronze – Daniel Damian (British Columbia)
Women’s U23 Podium
Gold – Maïra Carreau (Quebec)
Silver – Anna Krueger (Manitoba)
Bronze – Sophia Howell (Alberta)
Men’s U23 Podium
Gold – Daniel Damian (British Columbia)
Silver – Filip Mainville (Quebec)
Bronze – Hayden Woodrow (Alberta)
Complete Americas Triathlon Cup Montreal Results:
ABOUT TRIATHLON CANADA
Triathlon Canada is the governing body of the sport in the country. Triathlon Canada’s more than 22,000members 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, Tribe Solutions, Champion System Canada, BOCO Gear Canada, ZiZU Optics, Outway Performance Socks, SCICON – 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.
*****
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Chris Dornan
Triathlon Canada
T: 403-620-8731
E-mail: chris.dornan@triathloncanada.com