Mislawchuk out of mixed team relay
Canadian forced out due to achilles tendon injury
Photo by:
World Triathlon / Wagner Araujo
Canadian star Tyler Mislawchuk has withdrawn from the mixed team relay at the Olympics due to “an Achilles injury he sustained during his individual race this week.” Alexis Lepage will replace Mislawchuk on the relay team.
“At the direction of team doctors, Tyler Mislawchuk has withdrawn from the mixed team relay event on Saturday at the Olympic Games,” said Triathlon Canada’s High Performance Director Eugene Liang. “Unfortunately, during the individual race, Tyler aggravated his achilles tendon, which ultimately led to some cramping during the run portion of the race due to compensating for the pain. Since the completion of the individual race, we have been working with our medical team to mitigate the irritation in his achilles tendon, but unfortunately there is still some risk of further damage to the achilles should he start. Tyler is a world class athlete who is driven to perform. Our number one priority is to always protect the health of our athletes. This decision is not made easily in light of how competitive all our athletes are.”
Canada missed out on qualifying for the mixed team relay in May at the World Triathlon Mixed Relay Qualification Event, but earned a spot at the Olympics after Amelie Kretz earned Canada a second women’s spot in the individual competition.
“It’s devastating not to have the opportunity to line up with my teammates this weekend in the Olympic debut of the mixed team relay due to injury,” said Mislawchuk. “It will be tough watching from the sidelines and not being able to contribute. That said, this also presents an opportunity for my friend and training partner Alexis to compete in the Olympics. I know he is up to the task and will make Canada proud. I will be supporting my teammates in their final preparations. and will be cheering them on with the rest of Canada.”
