(Montreal) Gold medalist three weeks ago at the Grand Prix du Québec held in the Old Port of Montreal, Mathis Beaulieu continued his momentum on Thursday by climbing to the third step of the podium in the sprint triathlon (750 m swimming, 20 km of cycling and 5 km of running) at the Junior World Championships held in Hamburg, Germany.
“It was always a dream to get on the podium at the Junior World Championships! I would have liked to win, I’m very competitive, but I’m proud of my bronze medal,” the 18-year-old said in an interview with Sportcom.
Beaulieu’s day got off to a good start as he managed to stand out in the swim. He emerged from the water among the top 15 athletes en route to the first transition.
“In the water, I quickly found myself just behind Australia’s Bradley Course who seemed to have great pace. I stayed close to him and it was effective. It was a good game plan. »
Four competitors then escaped by bike to hold, at a certain point, about forty seconds ahead of the peloton in which Beaulieu was. The Quebecer, however, did not worry about this delay, knowing very well that it would be possible to catch up with them on foot.
As he had expected, Beaulieu came back up the slope after the last transition. He then fought a constant battle against Portuguese Joao Nuno Batista and Frenchman Nils Serre Gehri in the last meters. It was finally the Portuguese who won, 3 seconds ahead of Serre Gehri and 5 ahead of the Quebecer.
“We were patient in the peloton and we knew we had the advantage in running over the members of the breakaway. It was a key moment of the day. When I crossed the finish line in third place, I couldn’t believe it. It’s a very nice moment,” he added.
Mathis Beaulieu thus becomes the sixth Canadian to stand on the podium at the Junior World Triathlon Championships, the first since Charles Paquet in 2016.
Léandre Binette, of Saint-Christophe-d’Arthabaska, ranked 52nd while on the women’s side, Béatrice Normand, of Coteau-du-Lac, took 54th place.
The junior athletes will be back in action on Saturday in the mixed relay event.
“I think our team will be pretty strong. If everyone is in good shape and everything goes well, we can hope for a top-5 and maybe even a podium,” concluded Beaulieu.
Among the elite, Charles Paquet placed ninth in his qualifying round on Friday and he will participate in the final on Saturday. For her part, Emy Legault did not start for women.
A mixed elite relay will be presented on Sunday, at the conclusion of the event.