Triathlon Canada —Tyler Mislawchuk and Joanna Brown run into top-15 in World Triathlon Series races—

YOKOHAMA, Jpn—Stefan Daniel proved he is in the best overall shape of his life after stomping the field to win the gold medal at the World Para-triathlon Series on an early Saturday morning in Yokohama, Japan.

The Paralympic silver medallist captured his eighth World Para-triathlon Series title, and second at Yamashita Park in Yokohama. Daniel led wire-to-wire through the 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre bike and five-kilometre run course under ideal conditions where he clocked a time of 58:54.

“The game plan was to have a good bike and test some new things because I have been balancing training with school,” said Daniel. “I was really happy with how everything went. Overall, this is the fittest and most balanced I’ve been this early in the year.”

Daniel darted through the current and choppy waters to take a sizeable lead out of Yokohama Harbour onto the bike course towards the City’s downtown.

“We were off really early in the morning so the conditions were pefect. The chop in the water broke up the field a bit,” added the three-time world champion. “The bike was nice and technical which is unusual for a para course and the run was pretty fun and fast.”

The Calgarian lit up the run course while darting to the gold medal. He finished two minutes ahead of Chris Hammer (United States) who was the next best finisher at 1:00:56. Russia’s Alexandr Ialchik snagged the final spot on the podium with a time of 1:01:24.

With 15 months to go until the 2020 Paralympic Summer Games, Daniel and his Canadian mates are preparing with all eyes focused on Tokyo.

“We just came off our first big training camp as a team in Hawaii. The goal was to test out the heat because we know it is going to be hot in Tokyo,” said Daniel. “I like the way I responded. I’m definitely a lot more confident with the heat. Everything is rolling right now, I’m running and swimming well so I hope to take this momentum into Montreal where I know will be a really good field.”

Two of Daniel’s teammates finished just off the podium in fourth place. Jessica Tuomela, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. teamed up with guide Marianne Hogan (Montreal) for the first time, and enjoyed a solid day in the women’s visually impaired category while clocking a time of 1:13:37. The Canadian duo finished just 11 seconds off the podium.

The division was won by Spain’s Susana Rodriguez with a time of 1:09:32.

Kamylle Frenette, of Dieppe, N.B., also battled hard in her first World Para-triathlon Series race of the season, posting a fourth-place time of her own at 1:11:19 in the women’s standing event.

Grace Norman, of the United States, won the classification with a time of 1:07:49.

Ottawa’s Jon Dunkerley, and his Victoria-based guide James Cook, placed eighth in the men’s visually impaired race with a time of 1:06:23.

Tyler Mislawchuk and Joanna Brown crack top-15 in World Triathlon Series races

Meanwhile, Tyler Mislawchuk and Joanna Brown both clawed their way into the top-15 in the men’s and women’s World Triathlon Series races on Saturday afternoon in Yokohama.

Mislawchuk, of Oak Bluff, Man., battled to 14th position with a time of 1:44:39. Brown, of Carp, Ont., finished 15th in women’s action at 1:56:27.

Following a decent 1.5-kilometre swim, Mislawchuk worked in a large chase pack for the duration of the 40-kilometre ride where he came off the bike in 20th spot. The 2016 Olympian picked off six spots in the standings during a spirited 10-kilometre run to finish 14th.

A group of 12 athletes pulled away from the field out of second transition and never looked back. The triathlon dozen dwindled to a group of four at the front of the run, which ended up with a trio sprinting for the line with 300-metres to go to determine the medals.

In the end it was Vincent Luis, of France, who won with a time of 1:43:21. South Africa’s Henri Schoeman was second at 1:43:24, while Hungary’s Bence Bicsak was third with a time of 1:43:26.

Joanna Brown was the lone Canadian in the women’s World Triathlon Series race.

Coming off her first career World Triathlon Series podium, Brown also put together a solid run to lock up the final spot in the top-15. 

The American women swept the podium. Katie Zaferes clocked a golden time of 1:52:12. Summer Rappaport hung on to her teammate until the final kilometre. Rappaport ended up 20 seconds back in second spot at 8:58. Taylor Spivey completed the sweep for the stars and stripes, with a third-place time of 1:53:29.

Complete World Paratriathlon Results:  https://www.triathlon.org/results/result/2019_yokohama_itu_world_paratriathlon_series

Complete WTS Results:  https://www.triathlon.org/results/result/2019_itu_world_triathlon_yokohama

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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, 2XU Canada, Training Peaks, Zizu Optics, Subaru Canada– 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. 

 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Chris Dornan

Triathlon Canada

T: 403-620-8731

E-mail: chris.dornan@triathloncanada.com