Olympics: Gold and Bronze for Canada’s Triathletes in World Cup

Kathy Tremblay and Sarah-Anne Brault took gold and bronze medals at the women’s World Cup Triathlon in Japan on Sunday. Al Dannity breaks down a big day for the Canadian duo’s Olympic preparations and assesses the threat posed by silver medallist Aileen Morrison of Ireland.

Improving in a hurry
At 29 years of age, Kathy Tremblay is peaking at the right time for a triathlete. The Montreal native took gold at the World Cup event in Ishigaki, Japan, just a week after finishing 8th in a World Triathlon Series event in Sydney, Australia. Tremblay’s career had faltered since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where she represented Canada, but putting together two great results will give her a huge boost on the road to London 2012. Tremblay, who put her success down to a desire to enjoy her racing more, looked more relaxed as she came home 20 seconds clear of Ireland’s Aileen Morrison.

Winnipeg’s Sarah-Anne Brault was just a further 5 seconds back in bronze. This was a huge result for Brault, who claimed her first ever World Cup podium. The 22 year-old pushed Morrison throughout the last two laps of the run but didn’t have the legs to overtake the eventual silver medallist. The result is still a massive boost for Brault who knocked off Edmonton’s Paula Findlay to win the Canadian Championships last summer.

New threat rising?
Triathlon promises to be amongst the more open events in the summer Olympics in London. While Tremblay and Brault will both see their results as boosts to their preparations, it would be remiss to ignore the woman who split the Canadian pair.

Morrison rebounded from a disastrous showing in Sydney to record a huge podium finish in Ishigaki. Her display in Japan may be far from the limit of her potential. Having finished the swimming leg in second, Morrison was forced to battle with the leading pack in the cycle and lost ground on Tremblay. This is an area the Irish triathlete feels she can improve on between now and London. “I’m pleased with silver. Obviously a little disappointed I couldn’t have a chance at the gold but Kathy had an amazing race and she ran really well so fair play to her,” said Morrison. “I wish I had of been with her coming out of T2 and maybe I’d have had a better chance.”

With less than 100 days until the Olympics, the competition for medals just got a lot more interesting.

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