Mislawchuk heading to Paris in top form

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This article was published 19/06/2024 (469 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tyler Mislawchuk is one of most successful triathletes in Canadian history, but can he finally make a breakthrough on the sport’s biggest stage at the Summer Olympics?

The 29-year-old from Oak Bluff believes he can.

Mislawchuk will test himself next month in Paris when he makes his third appearance at the Olympics. He finished 15th in both the 2016 Games in Rio and 2021 in Tokyo, although he was hampered by a hip injury in the former and a torn Achilles tendon in the latter.

“I’m not chasing a world ranking,” said Mislawchuk by phone from his high-altitude training site in Flagstaff, Ariz., Tuesday. “I’m chasing one day and one performance in Paris. So whether I’m ranked second going into the race, or 30th or 10th, it doesn’t really matter for me. I want to get it right on that one day.”

Mislawchuk, currently the No. 21 ranked male in the world, had already qualified for Paris with two excellent results in late 2023. He finished fourth at a World Triathlon Cup event in Miyazaki, Japan and sixth at an event in Tongyeong, South Korea.

However, bad luck and injuries have curtailed his progress in 2024.

A World Triathlon Series event scheduled for Abu Dhabi on March 8-9 was cancelled due to torrential rain and flooding. And then on May 11, Mislawchuk was caught in a wreck during the bike leg of an event in Yokohama, Japan, that resulted in broken ribs and a concussion for the Canadian.

“We were riding in groups and then I guess someone behind me hit a manhole cover and was sent up in the air and the wind was so strong that he got blown into my back wheel — so I didn’t see it at all,” explained Mislawchuk. “Usually when you crash, you kind of see it happening and it’s usually in front of you and you can’t avoid it. But this time, I didn’t see anything.”

He did not finish the Yokohama event but raced again two weeks later Cagliari, Italy, only to withdraw mid-race with concussion symptoms.

“The concussion was the hardest part,” said Mislawchuk, who figures he needed about six weeks to recover from the concussion. “The ribs are painful and you just deal with them. There’s not much you can do with ribs versus the concussion — it impairs your judgment.

“But I’m pretty confident of where I’m at now and fully recovered. I’ve been putting up some good numbers in training.”

In the absence of recent race results, Mislawchuk has planned a final tuneup before the big race in Paris July 30 when he participates in the Europe Triathlon Premium Cup in Holten, Netherlands on June 29.

“Last year I was able to climb from 130th in the world to 12th and this year I was confident I was gonna be putting up training that was even better than last year,” said Mislawchuk. “So you feel like there were missed opportunities that kind of robbed me of what could have been in these last two races and being able to show a new level.

“So, I’m definitely motivated.”

Mislawchuk’s Tuesday training schedule in Flagstaff included a 23-km run, 45 km on the bike and a 4.5-km swim.

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“I don’t have a problem pushing myself,” he said. “But in the next six weeks, I’ll actually be pulling the reins back a bit. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to train hard.”

Mislawchuk will be joined on the Canadian team in Paris by Emy Legault of L’Île Perrot, Que., and Charles Paquet of Port-Cartier, Que. However, since Canada did not qualify a second women from the top 55 in world rankings, Legault, Mislawchuk and Paquet will be unable to participate in the mixed relay event.

For now, Mislawchuk isn’t looking much past race day in Paris. But is retirement an option?

“It’s a tough question, because at 29 I’m in better shape than I was for the last two Olympics,” he said. “And for me in the sport, it’s always been about getting results and it’s seeing how far I can push myself and how fast and how far I can go. So I’ll try to do that in the next six weeks to Paris and probably finish out the season and then have some hard thinking to do.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca