Canadians excel at the PATCO Paratriathlon Championships

Canada’s paratriathletes combined to rack up 12 medals at the inaugural PATCO Paratriathlon Championships, which kicked off the 2012 Edmonton Triathlon Festival on Friday.

Canadian athletes won five gold, four silver and three bronze medals while competing in the sprint distance race format which includes a 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre bike and five-kilometre run course at Hawrelak Park.

The following are Canadian medal winners: (Complete results: www.triathlon.org)

Female TRI-3

1. Jennifer Hopkins 1:13:49.2

2. Kim Wedgerfield 1:45:27.9

3. Lorene Hatelt 2:01:15.7

Female TRI-4

1. Chantal Denholm 1:16:23.1

2. Jody Barber 1:16:29.9

3. Ngan Oickle 1:29:36.2

Male TRI-1

2. Pierre Ouellet 1:10:07.0

3. Brian Martin 1:23:37.4

Male TRI-2

1. Grant Darby 1:25:34.7

Male TRI-5

1. Darren Smith 1:22:41.1

2. John Paul Austring 1:47:57.4

Male TRI-6

1.Ryan Van Praet 1:05:19.3

“We were pretty happy today. We got passed just at the end but were right on our time goal,” said Ryan Van Praet, who finished first in the visually impaired category and second in the overall race discipline standings. “We wanted to put down a time that shows we can compete with the best in the world in terms of visually impaired and we did that so mission accomplished. It was a great event.”

The PATCO Paratriathlon Championships also served as the 2012 Canadian Paratriathlon National Championships. Supported by the International Triathlon Union as part of its five-year commitment to hosting World Cup triathlons in Edmonton, 15 of the international athletes that gathered in Edmonton participated in a paratriathlon camp, along with a series of seminars being offered by Triathlon Canada, that was open to all athletes, coaches and technical officials to help grow the sport.

“This is the first step towards Rio to show any other Canadians, and those around the world really, that this sport is coming along and we need to get all those athletes that may be interested out here to give a try,” said Van Praet. “This shows we will develop you, and are going to build the talent base of the sport. I think this race proves that we are very determined athletes that also want to get on the podium, and are working very hard.”