(Montreal) Emy Legault’s first top-10 in the Triathlon World Cup was also her first podium on Saturday in Huatulco. A motivating feat that occurred nearly seven years after his debut on the circuit and a week before the World Sprint and Relay Triathlon Championships scheduled for his family in Montreal.
Posted at 11:33 a.m.
“Honestly, I don’t know if I realize it yet,” Legault maintained the day after his performance. This is also the impression she gave when she was the second to cross the finish line, all smiles at the end of the sprint format course in Mexico.
“I knew it was possible, but at the same time everything had to line up on race day. I had no room for error. I had my chances, but we were about 12 girls who could make the podium, and there are only 3 places! she said.
The suffocating heat encouraged the athlete from Île-Perrot to use finesse from start to finish, she who managed to place herself at the forefront from the first transition.
“The goal was to get to running as less mortgaged as possible, especially considering the heat. You can’t afford to just spend energy on details that are not necessary, ”she justified in an interview with Sportcom.
This is why her positioning was crucial on the bike, where she wanted to stay in the peloton and limit the effort in the turns and facing the wind.
Arrived at the last part of the event, she accelerated and managed to force the hand of her opponents, who struggled to hold on. She had no idea that she held a slight lead over the fourth and fifth runners at this time and that she was mainly fighting for the color of the medal, not to deserve one.
“I realized it after taking first place, but I didn’t dare look behind me so as not to show fatigue. I was running more out of fear than anything, because I didn’t know how close the girls were! »
Italian Bianca Seregni caught her with a kilometer to go, then Emy Legault passed her with 300 meters to go. She was able to resist the attacks of her opponent to stay in second place. She was then seen collapsing to the ground, completely exhausted, after crossing the finish line.
“At the level of the body and the head, I was burned. I was just running without making a decision! I was lucky, because it worked, but I wasn’t there that much. »
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In his first participation in a World Cup, in 2015, Emy Legault was ranked 55e out of a total of 63 participants. All the road traveled since has represented a lot of work for the 26-year-old Quebecer, who wishes to serve as an example.
“I was definitely starting to get excited! There are many girls in Canada or other countries who can compare and it can give them hope that you don’t have to start with a top-5 to have potential. I was almost last in my first race, so I’m happy if it can inspire those who start, ”shared Legault, highlighting in passing the work of his compatriot Alexandrine Coursol who finished 28eSaturday on the occasion of his first World Cup.
Emy Legault will have a great opportunity to motivate the youngest in person, this weekend, during the very first World Sprint and Relay Championships in history, which will be presented in Montreal.
“It’s a completely different format, but I can’t wait to try it,” said the one who had only participated in the mixed relay event last year, in Montreal.
Competitors will first go through qualifying and repechage races in super sprint distance, ie 300 meters of swimming, 7.2 kilometers of cycling and 2 kilometers of running. Only ten athletes per category will get their ticket for the grand final on Saturday, following the various elimination rounds. The mixed relays will take place on Sunday.
They will be 17 representatives of the maple leaf to take part in the event, starting with Emy Legault, Jérémy Briand and Charles Paquet in the elite category.
Filip Mainville and Pavlos Antoniades will be under-23s. On the junior side, we will find Noémie Beaulieu, Clara Normand, Mathis Beaulieu, Nathan Grondin and Louis Marchand.