Manitoba continues a strong tradition of excellence.
Over the past decade, Manitoba has produced some of the best junior talent in the country, consistently punching well above our weight at inter-provincial games.
At the past three Canada Games, we’ve placed 2nd, 4th & 4th overall, with placings of 2nd overall at the last two Western Canada Games (where BC previously competed). With such a young team this year, it was always going to be difficult to maintain that level of success, but what our athletes may lack in age or experience in the sport, they more than made up for with preparation, determination and passion!
Triathlon competition at the Games started on Thursday, August 15th with the individual races for female and male athletes. Natalie Fournier scored the best placing in the female race with a hotly contested fourth place, with strong races from Megan, Annika, Madison, Kylie & Maggie that will be building blocks for each athlete in future seasons. In the male race, Blake Harris didn’t let a dropped chain derail anything as he threw down on the bike course (another province used the word ‘destroyed’!) and backed it up with a speedy run to step onto the podium for a Bronze medal. This is an outstanding achievement for a youth athlete surrounded by junior racers two years older. Behind Blake, Unai, Ben, Cole, Chase & Bryce all raced their hearts out and pushed hard on a challenging course.
The relay events started on Saturday, August 17th, with the female team getting a bronze and the male earning a silver, again punching well above their age categories to do so! Competition wrapped up with the mixed relay event on Sunday, August 18th, where the team earned a silver medal that was enough to keep us ahead of Saskatchewan and take home 2nd overall for the Games.
Given the young age of this team, we can’t wait to see what these athletes are able to achieve at the next Canada Games in Niagara 2021!!
Results:
Individual Races
Relays
Mixed Relays
