Triathlon Canada – Triathlon Canada – VICTORIA—Back-to-back World Championship titles by Stefan Daniel, a bronze-medal finish at the Commonwealth Games by Joanna Brown and a stellar fourth-place finish on the World Triathlon Series by Tyler Mislawchuk highlight the top performances in 2018 by Canadian triathletes as Triathlon Canada doled out its annual Excellence Awards.

Triathlon Canada awarded seven Triathlete of the Year awards for overall, elite male and female, junior male and female, as well as awards for top elite multisport male and female athletes. The William J. Hallett Award will also make its way to Saskatchewan in 2018, recognizing outstanding contribution to the sport.

Stefan Daniel (Alberta) was named the Overall Elite Triathlete-of-the-Year for the second-straight season, thanks to successfully defending his  Para-triathlon World Championships in Gold Coast, Australia.

“Being Overall Triathlete-of-the-Year is a huge honour. My 2018 season was a rollercoaster, and I struggled at times with motivation,” said Daniel. “Defending my world title seemed impossible midway through the year, but being able to turn my season around and win World Championships made it feel even more special than past wins. It gave me the confidence going forward that I can deal with anything, and can bounce back when racing isn’t going well.”

Joanna Brown (Ontario) and Tyler Mislawchuk (Manitoba) were named Elite Female and Male Triathletes-of- the-Year respectively.

A season that began with a historic bronze-medal finish at the Commonwealth Games secured Brown her second-straight Female Athlete-of-the-Year honour. The 26-year-old became just the fourth Canadian triathlete ever to hop onto the Commonwealth Games podium. She also added a fourth-place finish at the World Triathlon Series stop in Montreal this summer.

“I’m very proud to be named the Female Triathlete-of-the-Year. The 2018 season has been my most challenging year in the sport,” said Brown. “I can’t say that I ever found any sort of momentum this year, and every result that I was able to achieve is thanks to my coach, my family, my training partners and my support team. It is an honour to receive this award after such a grind of a season, and to be recognized even when racing didn’t go all that smoothly.”

Tyler Mislawchuk was named Top Male Triathlete-of-the-Year following a bounce back season that saw him post a career-best fourth-place finish at the World Triathlon Series in Yokohama. The 24-year-old Olympian also celebrated his first career podium on the World Cup when he was second in Antwerp, Belgium.

“I never take anything in this sport for granted and this is no different. I am honoured to be named Male Athlete of the Year. This is the furthest thing from an individual sport, and I am so grateful for my inner support circle,” said Mislawchuk.

Tate Haugan (British Columbia) and Angela Naeth (British Columbia) were named Elite Multisport Athletes- of-the-Year for 2018. Haugan was crowned Junior World Champion in cross triathlon at the Multisport World Championships Festival in Fyn, Denmark. Naeth was the top Canadian with a solid eighth place finish at the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

Two young Canucks also solidified their place at the top of the Triathlon Canada Nation once again in 2018. Desirae Ridenour (British Columbia) was named Junior Female Triathlete-of-the-Year, while Pavlos Antoniades (Quebec) was named Junior Male Triathlete-of-the-Year. Both athletes finished eighth at the Junior World Championships in Gold Coast, Australia.

Saskatchewan’s Don Gallo was the 2018 recipient of the William J. Hallett Excellence Award which recognizes outstanding commitment and significant contributions to the sport of triathlon in Canada by a long-standing contributor or volunteer.

Known as the godfather of triathlon in the province of Saskatchewan, Gallo was part of the first meeting in Penticton, B.C. that established Triathlon Canada. He has since been a driving force for the sport as a race director, volunteer director and provincial board member over the last four decades.

The William J. Hallett Excellence Award was created in 2013 to honour the outstanding efforts and time committed by Triathlon Canada’s past president, Bill Hallett, who was a founding member and the organization’s volunteer president from 1996 – 2005. A Triathlon Canada Hall of Fame member, Hallett was instrumental in taking Triathlon Canada from operating on a shoe string budget to one of the most respected non-profit sport bodies in the country.

Triathlon Canada also added all age group athletes who achieved podium performances at the World Championships, as well as those high-performance named to the World Championship Teams, to its Honourable Mentions List in 2018. Athletes include the following:

ITU World Triathlon Grand Final – Gold Coast, Australia

Standard Distance – Gold

Margie Ritchie – 60-64 Female

Standard Distance – Silver

Louise Atkinson Clark – 65-69 Female

Sprint Distance – Silver

Kate Timms – 40-44 Female

Graeme Barber 75-79 Male

High Performance Triathletes

Tyler Mislawchuk – 10th – Elite Men

Matt Sharpe – 17th – Elite Men

Joanna Brown – 18h – Elite Women

Pavlos Antoniades – 8th – Junior Men

Brock Hoel – 19th – Junior Men

Liam Donnelly – 28th – Junior Men

Desirae Ridenour – 8th – Junior Women

Hannah Henry – 12th – Junior Women

Kira Gupta-Baltazar – 30th – Junior Women

Martin Sobey – 23rd – U23 Men

Charles Paquet – 28th – U23 Men

High Performance Para-Triathlon

Stefan Daniel – 1st – PTS5 Men

Kamylle Frenette – 4th – PTS5 Women

Jessica Tuomela – 4th – PTVI Women

ITU World Multisport Festival – Fyn, Denmark

Elite Cross Triathlon – Gold

Tate Haugan – Junior Men

Elite Long Distance

Angela Naeth – 8th – Elite Women

Aquabike –  Bronze

Isaac Chung – 20-24 Male

Long Distance – Gold

Jim Stewart – 65-59 Male

Long Distance – Silver

Claire Robinson – 20-24 Female

Emily Taylor – 25-29 Female

Long Distance – Bronze

Nancy Cole – 65-69 Female

Aquathlon – Bronze

Kamal Maghri – 45-49 Male

Petr Schmidt – 55-59 Male

Cross Triathlon – Bronze

Evan Girard – 25-29 Male

Standard Duathlon – Gold

Matt Straatman – 25-29 Male

Chris Schindler – 40-44 Male

Margie Ritchie – 60-64 Female

Standard Duathlon – Silver

Tara-Jay Lapstra – 45-49 Female

Carolyn Silvey – 60-64 Female

Paul Huyer – 60-64 Male

Woody Paylor – 75-79 Male

Standard Duathlon – Bronze

Xavier Girard – 20-24 Male

Sprint Duathlon – Silver

Maureen Teixeira – 75-79 Female

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, 2XU Canada, Training Peaks, Garneau and Zizu Optics – 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

Media and Public Relations

Triathlon Canada

T: 403-620-8731