(Montreal) Gold medalist three weeks ago at the Grand Prix du Québec held in Old Port Montreal, Mathis Beaulieu continued his momentum Thursday by climbing to the third step of the podium in the triathlon (750m swim, 20km cycling) and 5 km running) at the Junior World Championships held in Hamburg, Germany.
“It has always been a dream to be on the podium at the World Junior Championships! I was hoping to win, I am very competitive, but I am proud of my bronze medal,” the 18-year-old athlete said in an interview with Sportcom.
Beaulieu’s day got off to a good start as he managed to excel in swimming. He broke out of the water among the top 15 athletes on his way to the first transition.
“In the water, I quickly found myself behind the Australian Bradley who seemed to have excellent speed. I stayed close to him and it was efficient. It was a good game plan.”
Then four competitors biked out to hold, at one point, about forty seconds ahead of the peloton in which Beaulieu was. However, Kipke was not concerned by this delay, fully aware that it would be possible to catch up with them on foot.
As expected, Beaulieu has recovered after the recent transfer. Then he fought a continuous battle against the Portuguese Joao Nuno Batista and the French Nils Serre-Gery in the last meters. The Portuguese finally won, 3 seconds ahead of Seri Gerry and 5 seconds ahead of Quebec.
“We were patient in the peloton and knew we had an advantage in running over the members of the breakaway. It was an important moment of the day. When I crossed the finish line in third place, I couldn’t believe it. It’s a very interesting moment,” he added.
In doing so, Mathis Beaulieu became the sixth Canadian to stand on the podium at the World Junior Triathlon Championships, the first since Charles Paquet in 2016.
Leander Bennett, of St. Christophe d’Artabasca, rank 52H While on the women’s side, Beatrice Normand, from Coteaux du Lac, finished 54thH rank.
Junior athletes will be back in action on Saturday in the mixed relay event.
“I think our team will be strong enough. If everyone is in good shape and everything goes well, we can hope to reach the top 5 and maybe even a podium,” Beaulieu concluded.
Among the elite, Charles Paquet finished ninth in Friday’s qualifying round and will take part in the final on Saturday. For her part, Aimee Legault didn’t start in the women’s class.
An elite mixed relay will be presented on Sunday, at the conclusion of the event.
