Canada’s Charles Paquet delivered a career-best result, racing to bronze at the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) Samarkand in Uzbekistan and earning his first podium on the sport’s top draft-legal circuit.

Paquet exited T2 27 seconds down, ran his way up to the leaders, and finished third in a tightly contested sprint for the line. Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca took the victory, with Germany’s Henry Graf second.

“It’s amazing to start the season like this,” Paquet said. “Last year I was disappointed not to podium having been close a few times, so it’s a great feeling. With Abu Dhabi cancelled I had a good training block in Girona, good volume and now I’m looking ahead [to] WTCS Alghero.”

Triathlon Canada celebrated the milestone afterward, posting: “@charlespaquet claims his first career WTCS podium with a [bronze] in Samarkand. The breakthrough performance makes Charles just the second Canadian male to climb onto the WTCS podium since @therealmislawchuk won bronze in 2019!”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by TRIATHLON CANADA (@triathloncanada)

With momentum on his side, Paquet will now turn his attention to the next stop on the WTCS circuit in Alghero.