Triathlon Québec is proud to present the athletes of the month. Local athletes who have distinguished themselves through their sporting performance and their commitment to the triathlon community. This month, we’d like to highlight Emy Legault and Pavlos Antoniades, two Team Québec athletes who got their season off to a strong start on the Americas Cup 2022 course, Viña del Mar followed by Villarrica. Emy and Pavlos shared with us the highlights of their last few weeks.

For Emy, official preparation began on December 20, when she and her team (CSL Triathlon) landed in Cuenca, Ecuador, for an altitude training camp. Being at the same time in a hot climate and at altitude was the perfect combination to prepare for the first races and the whole season with almost 300km of cycling per week.

The two races in Chile went very well, Emy. In the first race, the ocean swim quickly created a selection between the girls. Emy and two other athletes were able to take advantage of a gap at the water’s edge to escape on their bikes. She was able to test her running form, going head-to-head with Brazilian Luisa Baptista, an excellent runner on the World Triathlon circuit. Much to Emy’s surprise, the race ended in a sprint, with Luisa on top of the podium and Emy a second behind.

The second race, on the Olympic distance, was less selective in the water and a peloton of six athletes formed for the bike portion. The peloton managed to gain a lead of several minutes over the chasers before the final section. Once again on the run, there was a heated battle between Emy and the Brazilian before she opened up a gap at 9.7km and Emy crossed the line to win her second silver medal.

Next stop for Emy, Florida and its hot sun to prepare for the Continental Cup in Sarasota on March 12.

For Pavlos, the start of the season began differently. In January, he resumed normal training following a concussion that had affected him all autumn. He arrived in Chile for the two weeks of racing with as much preparation as possible for him and his medical student schedule.

The aim, from his very first race, was to get back to racing form. After a good swim, he quickly took a 15-second lead. After falling behind on the bike section, a good run enabled him to catch up with a few runners to reach the top 8.

For the Villarrica race, the objective was slightly different: he was looking to gain experience over the Olympic distance. His first race over the Olympic distance was very satisfying: a good swim, followed by several relays on the bike to close the gap as quickly as possible, and a very fast run (32:04 over the 10km), he finished in ^7th place. Very happy with his 1st Olympic triathlon.

Now back home and studying, he’ll be joining Team Québec athletes in Florida shortly for his next stop, the Continental Cup in Sarasota.

We’d also like to highlight the fine performances of Michaël Simard, who finished 16th in his first two career continental races in Chile, including one in his baptism over the Olympic distance. These results earned him valuable points in the international rankings.

Well done to all three of you for an excellent start to the 2022 season, which is shaping up to be a fast and very interesting one for us to follow. Happy racing in Florida to all the athletes taking part!