Canadian鈥檚 took two of the three male elite spots in the Aquathlon World Championship Friday.
Matthew Sharpe of Victoria captured the world title of the one-kilometre swim, 5-km run in 29 minutes 55 seconds. Following right behind was John Rasmussen in 30:09, while Great Britain鈥檚 Mark Buckingham was third in 30:32, and fourth overall.
| Matthew Sharpe of Victoria prepares to cross the finish line on Lakeshore Drive as the first elite-class athlete in Friday's aquathlon event in the ITU Multisport World Championships. (Mark Brett/Western News) |
鈥淚 think it was being part of the atmosphere. They鈥檝e done a really good job in Penticton,鈥� said Sharpe, following his win. 鈥淚t was a blast racing with a lot of hometown support.鈥�
The Victoria native felt he performed OK, feeling flat at the start of the swim, which took him 13:04 to complete.
鈥淭he run was one of those things where you are kind of going on emotion, going through the crowd,鈥� said Sharpe, who took 16:06 to complete the 5-km run. 鈥淚 kind of went when the crowd was near. It was exciting, it was awesome.鈥�
Sharpe came onto the run with Canadian Brennen Smith, who captured the under-23 title in 30:25. France鈥檚 Carl Dupont took silver in U23, while Kyle Smith of New Zealand picked up bronze after finishing in 30:54.
Sharpe said it was cool to see a trio of Canadians come in to take podium spots and added he hopes it gives excitement for the sport.
鈥淲e have a lot of talent in Canada,鈥� said Sharpe, who won the Tiszaujvaros ITU World Cup in Hungary on July 22.
Great Britain鈥檚 Emma Pallant, who wasn鈥檛 able to defend her Duathlon World Championship on Aug. 19, won the Aquathlon in 34:30, besting Great Britain鈥檚 Jacqueline Slack, who came in at 35:28.
Pallant trailed Slack in the swim by 1:03, but made up the deficit by completing the run in 16:59 to Slack鈥檚 18:45.
鈥淢y swim wasn鈥檛 the greatest. I felt really strong on the run,鈥� said Pallant, who dedicated the win to her coach Michelle Dillon. 鈥淚 think just as well, we鈥檝e been making most of the riding out here, some beautiful mountains.
| First place winner in the women's elite division Emma Pallant of Great Britain crosses the finish line in the ITU Multisport World Championships.(Mark Brett/Western News) |
鈥淚t鈥檚 a nice little thing to add to the mix,鈥� said Pallant of doing the Aquathlon. 鈥淪wimming definitely isn鈥檛 my strongest. I knew I would have a lot of work to do in the run.鈥�
Third overall went to under-23 athlete Chloe Pollard of Great Britain in 35:34, who also claimed the title for her division. She had the best swim coming out in 13:48.
Canada鈥檚 Brian Martin won the paratriathletes title in 44:50. Great Britain鈥檚 Robert Lightowler (20 to 24) is the Age Group champion, clocking a time of 30:31, while New Zealand鈥檚 Taryn Ryan (25 to 29), is the female Age Group champ with a time of 36:49. Denmark鈥檚 Michael Kruger won the Open Wave championship with a time of 36:37 and Lena Uvalle is the female champion in 41:57. Canadian Aiden Longcroft-Harris won the junior men鈥檚 championship in 30:11. Switzerland鈥檚 Delia Sclabas won the junior women鈥檚 title in 34:35.
