Findlay takes on 17 of the top 25 PTO ranked women at Canadian Open

Last weekend Paula Findlay returned to her hometown, Edmonton, to claim the national time trial title. Next month she’ll be back again to take on 17 of the top 25 women in the Professional Triathletes Organisation’s world ranking for the Canadian Open.

“I am absolutely looking forward to it. When I was a little girl, I remember going to Hawrelak Park and watching Simon Whitfield,” explained Findlay. “ I remember getting an autograph from him at the end of the race. That’s what encouraged me to get into the sport. So, to be able to come back now as a long-distance athlete and race in Hawrelak Park is something I never thought would ever happen.”

“My season has been focused on Edmonton and the new $1 million PTO Canadian Open, because I know that if I’m fully fit and healthy I can be competitive,” she continued. “I proved that to myself by winning the PTO Championship in Daytona in 2020 against the best in the world.”

Findlay will be taking on some big names in Edmonton including Germany’s Laura Philipp, fresh off a blazing 8:18 performance at Ironman Hamburg and American Taylor Knibb, who won last year’s World Triathlon Grand Final in Edmonton. According to the PTO Anne Haug could be added to the list, too, depending on how she recovers from Challenge Roth this weekend.

Another Canadian set to line up in Edmonton is Tamara Jewett, who took the win at Ironman 70.3 Mont-Tremblant last weekend.

The race will be the final event where athletes can earn automatic qualifying points for the Collins Cup in Slovakia in August.

Here’s a list of the women competing in Edmonton:

Laura Philipp (GER)

Taylor Knibb (USA)

Skye Moench (USA)

Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR)

Jeanni Metzler (RSA)

Paula Findlay (CAN)

Jackie Hering (USA)

Holly Lawrence (GBR)

Ruth Astle (GBR)

Chelsea Sodaro (USA)

Tamara Jewett (CAN)

Jocelyn McCauley (USA)

Sara Perez Sala (ESP)

Ellie Salthouse (AUS)

Fenella Langridge (GBR)

Luisa Baptista (BRA)

Ashleigh Gentle (AUS)

Lucy Buckingham (GBR)

Jodie Stimpson (GBR)

Sarah Crowley (AUS)

Hannah Wells (NZL)

Nikki Bartlett (GBR)

Laura Siddall (GBR)

Lotte Wilms (NLD)

Marjolaine Pierré (FRA)

Pamella Oliveira (BRA)

Julie Derron (CHE)

Elisabetta Curridori (ITA)

Danielle Lewis (USA)

Lauren Brandon (USA)

Anne Reischmann (GER)