MONTREAL—Kamylle Frenette is primed for Paris 2024 after winning her first World Triathlon Para Series race on a windy and wet morning in Montreal.
“I really needed that. This win means a lot and it is always good for the confidence,” said Frenette in the finish area. “This journey is always full of ups and downs, so I was really happy to be able to take the tape and hold it high today.”
The pharmacy professional from Dieppe, N.B. led wire-to-wire, completing the sprint-distance test around Canada’s cultural capital in a time of 1:07:59.
“My goal today was just to show what I was capable of and I really feel that I was able to do that,” said Frenette. “I was just so happy to be here. It is so fun to race around friends and family on home soil.”
The 27-year-old battled through the choppy waters in the 750-metre swim in the Olympic Basin at Parc-Jean-Drapeau. She opened a 55-second lead on the field by the time she pulled off her wet suit and jumped onto the bike for a 20-kilometre ride around the Gilles Villeneuve Formula 1 track.
Frenette increased her lead to one minute on the bike while navigating through heavy rain and gusting winds.
“The swim was pretty choppy. The bike got pretty dangerous with a couple of crashes out there, so I was just trying to maintain my speed, but obviously stay safe,” added Frenette. “The run was fine. We had a head wind but coming back it just felt fast and fun.”
Gwladys Lemoussu (France) was the next best finisher, more than 90 seconds back at 1:09:43. Alisa Kolpekchy (Ukraine) was third at 1:10:42.
Canada’s triathletes celebrated a triple-medal performance for the second-straight week on the World Triathlon Para Series.
Winnipeg’s Leanne Taylor was smiling with the silver medal in the women’s wheelchair classification where she clocked a time of 1:05:47.
“It is really exciting with Paris coming. This is pretty much the full field despite the Australian athlete who isn’t here, so it shows me a podium finish is possible,” said Taylor, who snagged her first victory one week ago in Swansea. “It was so exciting to race in Canada. I had lots of my friends and family here and I could hear them cheering for me on the course. It was nice to give them an exciting race and a good show.”
The 31-year-old Taylor was in a head-to-head battle with Kendall Gretsch of the United States the throughout the three-sport course.
The Canuck opened a sizeable 70-second lead after the challenging swim, but Gretsch clawed her way back to the front on the bike. Taylor was 10 seconds back of the American in second transition. Taylor dug deep on the five-kilometre run course, but ran out of real estate, crossing the line in second place.
“It’s a good outcome for me to have to fight with her. It was an exciting race. I almost had her into the wind, but she got me on the acceleration, so I paid for it on the corner,” laughed Taylor. “ Swimming in the chop gets in your head and that’s normally where I put some time on the competition. On the way out, I was thinking ‘I’m not sure how this is going,’ but once we turned around and had the current behind us, I was feeling good. I just had to work a little harder than usual.”
Gretsch won the gold with a time of 1:05:34. Brazil’s Jessica Ferreira was third at 1:06:54.
Two-time Paralympic medallist, Stefan Daniel, faced a tough battle in the men’s standing classification field.
Continuing to train his way into elite form for Paris 2024, the 27-year-old ran to second place with a time of 57:48.
“Overall, I’m a bit disappointed but that’s okay,” said Daniel, who struggled doing up the chin strap on his bike helmet in the transition area before the visor fell off. “I had a bad T1. On the bike I just tried to stay up with Chris (Hammer). When I was on the run, I wanted to put the rest of the race behind me and focus on a good run and I think I may have taken a positive step in the right direction there.”
Hammer held off the hard-charging Canadian, taking the gold with a time of 56:50. Spain’s Jairo Ruiz Lopez placed third at 58:23.
“Racing hasn’t gone perfect this year, but at the end of the day, that is okay because my focus is on Paris,” added Daniel. “I know what I need to work on. We have two months to tune it up and we will execute when it matters most.”
Two athletes from Drummondville, Que. – Olivier Desloges and his guide, Robin Tetreault – placed 12th in the men’s visually impaired category with a time of 1:13:17.
The Montreal stop on the World Triathlon Para Series marks the end of Paralympic qualification. Triathlon Canada and the Canadian Paralympic Committee will officially announce the athletes nominated to Team Canada for Paris 2024 on July 10.
Complete World Triathlon Para Series Montreal Results
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