A golden day for Canadian Para triathlon superstar Stefan Daniel in Montreal, as the 26 years-old claimed the victory at the Montreal World Triathlon Para Series this Saturday cheered by hundreds of spectators. Lauren Parker, Howie Sanborn, Alexix Hanquinquant, Grace Norman or Susana Rodriguez, to name a few, were amongst the ones securing not only a gold medal, but also some valuable points on their road to Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
PTS5
The young Canadian Daniel was unstoppable at the Gilles Villeneuve Formula 1 track, securing the victory on the male’s PTS5 class to finish almost 15 seconds ahead of Chris Hammer (USA). “I’m happy to secure a win and start my Paris 2024 qualification (period) off really well,” said Daniel, who was born with bilateral radial club hands “The race was pretty tough today. I knew going in that the heat and humidity would be a big factor”, said Daniel after the race. Bronze medal on the day was for Ronan Cordeiro (BRA), who managed to stay ahead of Filipe Marques (POR), who had one of the fastest swims on the day but could only finish in fourth place.
On the women’s race, victory was for the current World Champion, Grace Norman (USA), who this time crossed the finish line just ahead of her friend and Paralympic champion Lauren Steadman (GBR). For much delight of the local crowds, third place was for another loca, Kamylle Frenette (CAN), who had a substantial lead over the fourth athlete on the day, Spaniard Andrea Miguelez Ranz.
PTS4
Frenchman Alexis Hanquinquant continued his impressive dominance on the PTS4 class with another victory in Montreal, unbeaten since 2019, and looking as the clear favourite for the Paralympic Games on his home country. His lead with the pursuers was significant -over three minutes- but it was fantastic to see two athletes on the podium that are not the usual ones in this class: silver was for Carson Clough (USA) while third place was for Antonio Franko (CRO).
On the women’s side, it was clear that if there’s a class in which USA has all their hopes for Paris 2024 is PTS4, with Kelly Elmlinger, Emma Meyers and Kendra Herber producing a podium sweep just a few days after 4th of July.
PTS3
It was Dutch man Nico Van Der Burgt crossing the finish line in first place, displaying a swim form that was hard to beat on the day. The current silver medallist at the European Championships proved that he wants to make the debut of this class at the Paralympic Games one for the ages for himself, while Frenchman Cedric Denuziere managed to get the silver medal, securing some valuable Paralympic Qualification points that have put him on the 9th place for the moment. Justin Godfrey‘s (AUS) third place was also a great one for the young Aussie, trying to secure his presence in Paris as well.
On the women’s side, gold medal was for the only participant, Kenia Yesenia Villalobos Vargas (MEX).
PTS2
Golden day for another Dutch, Maurits Morsink, who managed to come from over three minutes of deficit on the swim to claim victory on the men’s PTS2 class, with a powerful bike segment that was just impossible to follow by USA’s Mohamed Lahna, who ended up crossing the finish line in second place. Bronze on the day was for Wilm De Paepe (BEL), who also claimed some valuable points on the road to Paris.
On the women’s side, it was gold and silver for Team USA; with Hailey Danz adding one more gold medal to her already impressive collection, while second on the line was Melissa Stockwell, leaving in third place Yukako Hata (JPN), who had the fastest swim split on the field, but was passed by both Americans on the bike segment.
PTVI
Team Spain proved once again that on the Visually Impaired category, is a nation to beat. Paralympic champion Susana Rodriguez was the fastest once again, despite a swim that was not up to what she was expecting and had to work harder than in previous races on the bike and run segments. Behind her, Chloe Maccombe (IRL) stepped on the first WTPS podium of her career, with a silver medal to add to the one she got at the Commonwealth Games last summer. In third place, Heloise Courvoisier paved also her way to the Paris 24 Paralympics with a podium that puts her in the mix for qualifying.
On the men’s side, it was the return to the WTPS podium of current Paralympic silver medallist Hector Catala Laparra (ESP), after the disappointment of finishing in fourth place at the World Championships and European Championships. Hector and his guide had a fierce battle with Oscar Kelly (GBR), who despite having the fastest running split on the day, was only able to finish in the second place, leaving the third spot on the podium to Kyle Coon (USA).
PTWC
The latest battle amongst the two queens of the PTWC class, Lauren Parker (AUS) and Kendall Gretsch (USA), ended with the young Aussie claiming the gold medal in Montreal with a dominant performance, crossing the finish line almost three minutes ahead of the American. The Aussie, who is combining her para triathlon career with races on para cycling as well, delivered a flawless race, with the rest of the field only able to battle for the rest of the positions. And it was Brasil’s Jessica Ferreira claiming the bronze, only 10 seconds behind Gretsch.
On the men’s side, Howie Sanborn (USA) stepped up one place on his silver medal at WTPS Yokohama to get gold in Montreal, second victory of the season for him so far and in a great position for the Paris Test Event and the World Championships that will take place this September in Pontevedra. The American outrun Nick Beveridge (AUS) and Jumpei Kimura (JPN), silver and bronze on the day.