Wagner leads Canadian Juniors in Chicago

Emily Wagner, a 17-year-old from Calgary, finished seventh in the junior women’s race on Friday. 

With files from Triathlon Canada, photos by Kevin Mackinnon

Competing in her first World Championship event, the 17-year-old Wagner was solid from start-to-finish against the next generation of elite triathletes, clocking a time of 59:38.

“This is my first time at Worlds so I had very little expectations coming into the race,” said Wagner. “The swim was quite rough and I wasn’t used to that but it was good, and we worked well together on the bike. To be in the top-eight at World Championships is really good for me.

Wagner came out of the 750-metre swim in Lake Michigan in fourth spot where she settled into a chase pack of 14 girls that were hunting down the eventual gold and silver medallists. Wagner dodged a crash in the second lap, which dropped the chase group to four athletes – a place she stayed until second transition on the run. The pack quickly stretched out in the first of two laps on the five-kilometre run, and Wagner hung on to the seventh spot.

Emy Legault, of Ile Perrot, Que., was in that pack of 14, but unfortunately was part of the crash dropping her well back into 30th position with a time of 1:02:35. Winnipeg’s 16-year-old Kyla Roy was steady in her first trip to Worlds, placing 18th at 1:00:42.

Germany’s Laura Lindemann handily won the junior women’s race with a time of 57:28. American Taylor Knibb celebrated the silver medal with a time of 58:14, while Norway’s Lotte Miller was thrilled with her bronze-medal finish after punching the clock at 58:39.