Jamnicky strikes gold at Hamilton CAMTRI cup
Dominika Jamnicky landed her first win of the season with a time of 1:02:28 in Bermuda.
Canada’s National Development Team athletes racked up a trio of medals at the Hamilton CAMTRI Sprint Triathlon American Cup race in Bermuda on Sunday.
The Canadians dominated the women’s race with Dominika Jamnicky, of Guelph, Ont. winning the gold medal and Emy Legault, of Ile Perrot, Que., the bronze. The path to the podium continued for the Canucks in the men’s race with Alexis Lepage, of Quebec City, taking home a bronze medal of his own.
The 24-year-old Jamnicky came out of the 750-metre swim in the middle of the pack before taking control of the race after breaking away with her teammates, Emy Legault and Elisabeth Boutin, on the challenging 20-kilometre bike.
“I am thrilled to come home with the win today. It was a tough course with a nice climb and technical section. I managed to bridge the gap out of the water to my teammates. We were able to break away and gained a one minute gap on the bike,” said Jamnicky.
Matching strides with her two Canadian mates, Jamnicky also had her focus on American Kaitlin Donner heading into the five-kilometre run course. When the game of tactics was all said and done, Jamnicky won by 25 seconds with a time of 1:02:28.
“I knew Kaitlin is a faster runner so I tried to go out hard on the run and keep the gap as big a possible. I was very proud to stand on the podium and sing my national anthem,” added Jamnicky after coming off the podium where she was doused in champagne.
Donner was forced to settle for second place at 1:02:53, while Canada’s 19-year-old Emy Legault edged her teammate Elisabeth Boutin for the bronze medal. Legault stopped the clock at 1:03:06. Quebec’s Boutin posted a time of 1:03:10.
Meanwhile, Alexis Lepage added one more medal to Canada’s haul after winning the bronze in the men’s sprint race. While hungry for more in Bermuda, Lepage struggled to a time of 56:00.
“To be honest, I’m not really happy with my race. I had a terrible feeling in the swim and I didn’t manage to be able to focus on my technical points. When I came out of the water I was really boxed, and my legs didn’t want to push on the bike. They were feeling pretty heavy for the full bike,” said Lepage, who was sixth at the season-opening CAMTRI race last month in Florida.
“I manage to save the day in the run. I just decided to sit on for the first three kilometres of the run, and I went full gas on the last two kilometres to grab the last step on the podium. I’m really happy with the final result, but not so much in how I was feeling. It’s a long process to Tokyo, and that race shows me that even on a hard day, I just need to keep the focus on.”
Eli Hemming and Jason West delivered a one-two American punch in the men’s race. Hemming set the time to beat at 55:14, while West ran onto the silver-medal step of the podium after posting a time of 55:21.
John Rasmussen was the only other Canadian male to finish in the top-five. The Ancaster, Ont. resident finished fifth at 56:20.
The CAMTRI events not only play a critical role in the development of Canadian triathletes, but also provide them with opportunities to qualify for World Cup races.
From Triathlon Canada
