Cashmore, Ellis and Moore top the podium in Canada
While Saturday’s racing in Montreal will feature the fifth round of the ITU World Triathlon Series, Friday was all about the third ITU World Paratriathlon Series race of the 2019 season.
A strong British team travelled across the Atlantic and continued their impressive run of consistent success, including a very close one-two finish in the Women’s PTS5 Category.
Winner of Paralympic swimming medals at the last four Games, Claire Cashmore took a very narrow (nine seconds) victory over 2016 Paralympic Games Triathlon Silver medallist, Lauren Steadman. Incredibly well-matched across all three disciplines (indeed, eight of those seconds were gained in T1 and T2), the British pair were three minutes clear of Grace Norman (USA), the reigning Paralympic Games Champion.
Hannah Moore continued her domination of the PTS4 category, though due to the Tokyo 2020 competition structure (explained HERE), her mission is to try and qualify for Tokyo in the PTS5 division of Cashmore and Steadman – via the ‘class-up’ process – and she is making fine progress.
Here is the full roundup of Paratriathlon performances yesterday, courtesy of British Triathlon. Full results can be found HERE.
British Paratriathletes celebrate medal success in Montreal
The British Paratriathlon team secured a total of seven medals from the ITU World Paratriathlon Series in Montreal.
The team’s focus was on securing the first stage of nomination for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games by winning a medal in Canada.
The PTS5 category saw the closest finish of the whole event with Claire Cashmore just beating Lauren Steadman to the line. Cashmore led the race out and got to T1 just ahead of Steadman before extending her lead at T2.
Cashmore improved on her performance in Yokohama while Steadman claimed her first medal of 2019. Grace Norman (USA) took the bronze medal.
“I’m really pleased to have won my first ever World Paratriathlon Series gold medal,” Cashmore said. “My preparations for the event went really well and I was feeling good on the start line.
“The Montreal course is pretty special, and it’s really cool to race on the F1 circuit. It really suited the way I race, and it was great to have Lauren pushing me the whole way. It was a really exciting finish but I’m so happy to have got that tape.”
The British team’s medal haul was started by Dave Ellis (PTVI), who took the gold medal ahead of Spain’s Hector Catala Laparra and Jose Luis Garcia Serrano. Ellis and his guide Luke Pollard took the top step of the podium after taking the tape having led throughout the race.
Enjoyed that one for sure! 🥇🥇 – Gold for @davellisgb at WPS Montreal, absolutely buzzing to be a part of it and reap the rewards for all our hard work! It’s amazing to be a part of the @brittri para team – they’re a good bunch 😉 pic.twitter.com/OprB7BNps4
— Luke Pollard (@LukePollard91) June 29, 2019
Hannah Moore (PTS4) took the gold three minutes ahead of American Kelly Elminger after leading the race from the start. Moore carved out a two-minute lead in the swim section before maintaining her lead throughout the bike and run legs. Japan’s Mami Tani won bronze.
Paralympic silver medallist Alison Peasgood (PTVI) continued her medal form with silver alongside her guide Nikki Bartlett. The pair’s Bike split was the fastest in the field which out them in a strong position ahead of the run. They finished behind Spain’s Susana Rodriguez.
George Peasgood secured the bronze medal in the PTS5 category. He led until the run section when he was overtaken by Martin Schulz (Germany) and Stefan Daniel (Canada).
In the PTWC category, Jade Jones-Hall led from the start of the race and had the fastest swimming split but was overtaken in the final leg. The Brit finished just behind Japan’s Wakako Tsuchida and Emily Tapp (Aus) who won gold.
Joe Townsend finished in fourth place in the PTWC category while Steven Crowley took 10th place in the PTS4 category.
Jonathon Riall, British Paratriathlon’s Head Coach, said: “I’m really pleased with the team’s performance today. To see such fantastic racing on a world stage is great and I believe we can build on the performances moving forwards. The conditions were challenging but to come home with seven medals is a really good result.
“We have come off the back of our two-week camp in Florida and I’m pleased with the impact that it had on the athletes ahead of this competition.
“It’s great that so many of our athletes have secured the first stage of Tokyo 2020 qualification and we’re all looking forward to the Test Event in August.”
Fran Brown has been forced to withdraw from the ITU World Paratriathlon Series in Montreal due to a slight injury. The decision to withdraw was made in order to give her time to fully recover ahead of the test event and the Grand Final. We wish her all the best for her recovery. pic.twitter.com/iHyu5O48RQ
— British Triathlon (@BritTri) June 27, 2019
