Emy Legault and Charles Paquet helped Canada finish fifth in the mixed relay at worlds.
Posted at 8:51 p.m.
“We are probably not the favorites, but we will definitely have a competitive team,” shared Emy Legault on Saturday, in anticipation of the mixed relay of the World Sprint and Triathlon Relay Championships. The Quebecer went from words to action on Sunday alongside Tyler Mislawchuk, Charles Paquet and Dominika Jamnicky by signing an impressive top-5 in Montreal.
In front of a smaller crowd than the day before, but whose encouragement was just as appreciated, Mislawchuk was the first to start and was in the top 10 when he gave the baton to Emy Legault.
The athlete from Île-Perrot had the mandate to bring his team back to the leaders, otherwise the slope would be difficult to climb for Charles Paquet.
“I knew that the Norwegian was a good swimmer and good cyclist, so it was my mark to join the front of the race. My goal was to watch his feet in the water and his wheel on the bike, explained Legault. I absolutely had to stay with her, otherwise we would continue backwards for the rest of the race. »
This is what she managed to do despite the cumulative fatigue over the past few days. A fatigue that she especially felt when running, where she had the impression “of having concrete instead of thighs. »
When his turn came, Charles Paquet knew full well that he was in a strong group thanks to his teammate and that he was going to have to work hard.
“I had to hang on (to swimming), unfortunately I couldn’t. I got my way blocked. It looks easy from the outside, but in the water you can’t see very well! he confided, laughing.
As he did throughout the weekend, the athlete from Port-Cartier stood out in the cycling portion. Well positioned among the chasing group, he collaborated with the other cyclists to close the gap with the leaders. Paquet felt that he didn’t have “the same stride as on Saturday in the run. This did not prevent him from improving his situation to take the provisional fourth place.
Dominika Jamnicky was then 50 seconds from the lead to close the competition. She was fighting for a place in the top-5 and took advantage of a penalty awarded to Switzerland to finish fifth.
In the end, the Canadian team signed a cumulative time of 1 h 29 min 6 s
Silver medalist in the individual race on Saturday, the Frenchwoman Cassandre Beaugrand held a considerable lead over her pursuers at the end of the course. Although this gap has diminished in running, Beaugrand has never been worried. With a time of 1h 27 min 14 s, the French won the gold medal, in addition to ensuring their country’s participation in this event at the 2024 Olympic Games, which will be held at home in Paris. .
The British (+23 seconds) ensured their qualification as well, while the Americans (+30 seconds) completed the podium.
As far as the Canadiens go, this is a well-regarded top-5 at home.
“It exceeds my expectations, admitted Charles Paquet. It’s been a while since Canada had such a performance in the relay. There were some good teams today! I think we can be really proud. »
“It’s one of my favorite races. It’s fun to see everyone present around to encourage us and bring us to the finish line. I really loved the weekend,” added Emy Legault.
The two Quebecers will now prepare for the World Series in Hamburg, Germany, scheduled for July 9 and 10.
Same result for juniors/U23
Filip Mainville and Pavlos Antoniades were also in action in the city on Sunday. They teamed up with Ontario’s Kira Gupta-Baltazar and British Columbia’s Colette Reimer in the mixed junior/U23 relay. The quartet placed fifth with a time of 1:26:21.
Feverish, Mainville was the first Canadian to dive.
“By being first, everything rests on your shoulders. If you have a bad race, everyone is going to get hurt afterwards,” said the Laval resident, who managed to recover brilliantly after a difficult swim.
Gupta-Baltazar took over, then handed it over to Pavlos Antoniades, who was battling to crack the top-5.
“I wanted to maintain our position and recover time in the first transition. I pushed hard and gave it my all to run to catch up with a few athletes,” said the Montrealer, who believes that the cycling portion represented a particular challenge.
“It was very technical, not only did you have to push hard, but also be alert in order to take the best curves and keep the gas at the bottom. It’s a good effort and you have to be careful. »
Here too, it was the French who were crowned champions. Candize Denicot stopped the clock at 1:24:7, waving a French flag above her shoulders. The British and Germans received silver and bronze.
The format of the Sprint and Relay World Championships was new for Mainville and Antoniades, who said they were satisfied with their performance.
“It’s fun, because it’s really a collective effort. We encourage each other through that. Usually we do our own thing, but the format makes it more dynamic and it becomes a team sport, Antoniades said.
“Mistakes happen all the time, so it’s important not to give up. Everyone made mistakes, but by dint of hard work, we managed to stay in the race until the end, ”he concluded.