Daniel takes gold at World Triathlon Para Series race in Montreal

Canadians earned all three colours of medals at today’s World Triathlon Para Series event in Montreal as Stefan Daniel (winning the 2019 Para triathlon world championship in the photo above) took gold, Kamylle Frenette silver and Leanne Taylor won bronze in their categories.

Daniel, a silver and bronze medalist at the last two Paralympics took his second gold of the season (he won the World Triathlon Para Cup A Coruna last month) with a decisive win in the PTS5 category.

“It was my best race in a few years,” Daniel said. “I had a slower start to the year and I’m starting to get in shape now. I was strong across all three disciplines which I haven’t been this year. My cycling wasn’t quite as good today, but I had a much better swim. I set myself a lot better and I had to go hard on the bike but not to last race’s extent.”

Related: Stefan Daniel’s journey to Paralympic fame

Daniel won the race in 59:10 ahead of American Chris hammer (1:00:13) and Portugal’s Filipe Marques (1:00:20).

Frenette (1:09:46), who was fourth at the Paralympics last year, had her best international result with her second-place finish behind American Grace Norman (1:05:45).

“Everything went to plan,” Frenette said. “I definitely had one of my best swims and I was able to stay with the leaders, but I have some work to do on the bike and run for sure.”

Taylor (1:12:40) was third in the wheelchair division behind Australia’s Lauren Parker (1:05:09) and American Kendall Gretsch (1:11:50).

“I finally put together a bike portion I was proud of,” Taylor said. “It was a solid swim and I always have a good time on the run. I’ve been making a lot of improvements, and this is the first time I’m really competitive with the girls.”

Hicham Boufekane, born and raised in Montreal, competed in the PTS3 category. It was the former Para swimmer’s third Para triathlon event – he finished seventh.

“It was a very heartwarming experience for me,” said Boufekane, a 23-year-old student at the Universite de Montreal in kinesiology. “It was wonderful to share these moments with my family and friends. I’m really motivated to keep pursuing this sport with the improvements I showed today.”