Charles Paquet from Canada secured a bronze medal on Saturday at a World Triathlon Championship Series event held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The 28-year-old completed the competition in a time of one hour, 43 minutes, and 41 seconds. Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca took first place with a time of 1:43:33, while Germany’s Henry Graf finished in second at 1:43:37.
All three athletes were engaged in a tight competition until the latter part of the 10-kilometre running segment.
“It’s incredible to kick off the season like this,” Paquet remarked. “I was let down last year for not making it to the podium despite being close multiple times, so this is a fantastic feeling.”
Paquet emerged from the 1.5-kilometre swim in 12th position out of 13 participants, then settled into the middle of the pack during the first lap of the five-lap cycling course.
He ultimately finished the cycling segment in eighth place, 27 seconds behind the leaders as they entered the 10-kilometre run. By the halfway point, Paquet was racing closely alongside both Vilaca and Graf.
The trio remained together until the final 400 metres, where Vilaca made a decisive move ahead, followed closely by Graf.
With this achievement, Paquet becomes only the second Canadian male to earn a medal in the WTCS. Tyler Mislawchuk previously finished third at the Montreal event in 2019.
Canadian female athletes have also experienced success in the WTCS. Joanna Brown earned a bronze medal in Bermuda in 2019, while Kirsten Sweetland claimed third place in Hamburg in 2014. Paula Findlay triumphed in five races between 2010 and 2011.