Triathlon | An exciting show at the Grand Quai du Vieux-Port

It’s coming. Montreal will host the first World Sprint and Relay Triathlon Championships in history, June 23-26. More than 2,000 triathletes from 45 countries will compete at the Grand Quai in the Old Port of Montreal.

Katherine Harvey Pinard
The Press

The event will take place as part of the Groupe Copley World Triathlon. It will be the largest international triathlon competition ever held in Quebec since… 1999. Montreal then hosted the World Championships over the Olympic distance.

“We really organize a race that is, technically and show, of a very high level”, suggests Patrice Brunet, president of Podium Productions – formerly TriCon Events -, responsible for the organization.

For years, Podium Productions has wanted to host the Triathlon World Championships in Montreal. “It was our turn,” said Mr. Brunet, adding that the International Triathlon Federation’s “rating of respect” towards his group “is very high”, in particular because of its annual organization of a stage of the Series. world triathlon since 2016.

Hosting such an event in Montreal will provide great visibility to the city, believes Mr. Brunet. “It’s important for the revitalization and revival of the tourist community,” he says, while more than 60,000 spectators are expected.

The budget for the organization is over $4 million, much of which comes from all three levels of government. Another part comes from private funds. Podium Productions estimates the economic benefits at $24 million for Montreal, not to mention the creation of more than 140 jobs in the city.

The tests

Elite level athletes will cover the Super-Sprint distance, consisting of a 300m swim, 7.2km bike and 2km run.

The competition format is as follows: 60 men and 60 women will start on Friday. The fastest 30 will be in the second round the following day. The 10 slowest will be cut for the third round. Same thing for the fourth round, until there are only 10 athletes left for the final.

“Between races, not even 10 minutes pass. As soon as the athletes have crossed the finish line, they must prepare to leave very quickly”, explains Patrice Brunet.

“It’s really exciting for the spectators,” he adds. Athletes give their all because they don’t want to be eliminated. […] Everything is happening in front of us. When they’re on the bike or swim courses, there’s a big screen so spectators can follow every minute of the competition. »

For the mixed relay, each national team will have to complete four triathlons before crossing the finish line.

We will notably find the Canadians Emy Legault, Charles Paquet, Dominika Jamnicky and Tyler Mislawchuk.

In the case of junior and amateur athletes, we are talking about sprint-type triathlons, i.e. 750 m swimming, 20 km cycling and 5 km running. The athletes in each category will all have previously qualified in their respective countries in order to take part.

Inspire people

Patrice Brunet, who has been doing triathlons himself for 30 years, describes himself as a “passionate about health and physical well-being”. According to him, high-level competitions such as the Olympic Games or the World Championships have the power to inspire people to move and train.

“When you watch tennis at Roland-Garros, you just want to go to the park and hit some balls. It’s kind of the same thing,” he says.

“Swimming, cycling, running… We all have access to relatively inexpensive equipment not far from us. […] If there are 10 people, the next day [de l’évènement]who are starting triathlon training, for me, all these efforts will have meant a victory”, he adds.

In addition to the World Triathlon and the Sprint and Relay World Championships, Podium Productions is organizing the Distrix urban festival from September 2 to 4 in Montreal, the Challenger 3×3 basketball tournament from August 19 to 21 in Quebec City and the running series amateur On court Montreal.