Martin Sobey takes fourth at Pan Am Games

Brazil’s Miguel Lopes Hidalgo took the sprint for gold at the Pan American Games triathlon, finishing a second up on American Mathew McElroy with Mexico’s Crisanto Grajales Valencia rounding out the podium. Canadian Martin Sobey managed to outspent American Seth Rider for fourth.

The 1,500 m wetsuit swim took place in 60-degree water, making for a cold start to the event. A group of three got clear, but they were caught by the chase group at the end of two of the eight-laps of the 40 km bike course. That set up a footrace for the medals.

“It was two hard laps of chasing on the bike until we connected with the front, and from there it was a tactical fight all the way until the end of the run,” said Sobey. “I tried to fake it. I was hurting for a lot of the run. I felt pretty tired, but I knew if I kept fighting and put myself out there, that at the end of the race anything is possible.”

The eventual medalists all pulled away with one lap to go of the 10 km run, setting up the sprint for the medals.

“I think this was one of the most tactical races I’ve ever done,” McElroy said after the race. “The sprint finish was also pretty epic, and I have to give it to the crowd, it was fantastic. I can easily say this was one of the top three triathlons I’ve ever done, and I am so proud to have been able to finish on the podium. The Pan American Games are getting deeper and deeper, finishing second here to Hidalgo, especially when I am not 100 per cent recovered of my back injury, means a lot to me. This shows that I can be there, and I will come to next season probably in the best form of my life.”

Other Canadians in the field included Brock Hoel, who finished 12th, with Liam Donnelly taking 19th. Chase McQueen was the third American in the field – he took 14th.

1. Miguel Hidalgo (BRA), 1:46:08
2. Matt McElroy (USA), 1:46:09
3. Crisanto Grajales (MEX), 1:46:11
4. Martin Sobey (CAN), 1:46:31
5. Seth Rider (USA), 1:46:32

You can find the full results here.