Canadian men’s team showing its depth

Triathlon Canada’s men’s development team is showing its depth with great performances in New Zealand last weekend. Michael Lori led the Canadian contingent taking third in the OTU Sprint Triathlon Oceania Cup in Takapuna, New Zealand, in a time of 27:21. “It was over so quick, I didn’t realize where I was until 500 metres to go,” he told Triathlon Canada after the race. “To have four Canadians in the mix, in a strong field, and hearing the announcers who were all over it – it was pretty cool,” he continued.

Quebec’s Alexis Lepage of Quebec finished fifth in 27:28. Campbell River, B.C.’s Matthew Sharpe took 11th in 27:40 and Winnipeg’s, Tyler Mislawchuk took 14th just four seconds behind him.

pic.twitter.com/89bBjzGrZS

— Alexis Lepage (@Alexis_Lepage) February 13, 2015

While the sprint race is short, athletes had to race twice within two hours for a qualifying round and the final. “At the end of two races in a row, I was getting cramps and didn’t know how I’d feel, but the training kicked in and I quickly put the legs to work,” said Lori. “It is a great confidence-booster, and over the unique format, was simply a fun way for most of us athletes to start the year,” he noted.

New Zealand’s Ryan Sissons was first in 27:07 and Australia’s Luke Willian was second.
No Canadian women competed in the event.

Full results are available at www.triathlon.org/results.