Three triathletes named to Canadian Olympic Team for Paris 2024
TORONTO (June 17, 2024) – A trio of Canadian athletes replete with multi-sport games experience have been nominated by Triathlon Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee to swim, bike and run into the triathlon venue at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The athletes are:
Emy Legault (L’Île Perrot, Que.)
Tyler Mislawchuk (Oak Bluff, Man.)
Charles Paquet (Port-Cartier, Que.)
The 29-year-old Mislawchuk will be making his third Olympic appearance. One of Canada’s most successful athletes ever in the sport, he was the first Canadian in the 20-year history of triathlon being part of the Olympic programme to win the Olympic Test Event, which he did heading into Tokyo 2020. Mislawchuk’s triumph capped off a breakthrough 2019 season in which he won the first two World Cup races of his career before going on to capture his first ever World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) podium by winning bronze in Montreal. At Tokyo 2020, Mislawchuk posted his second-straight 15th place finish at the Olympic Games. After dealing with a season of injuries and setbacks, he was rejuvenated in his drive to Paris 2024 with two ninth-place, a 12th-place and five top-15 finishes on the WTCS in 2023 to go along with another World Triathlon Cup podium – a silver in Huatulco.
“Third time’s a charm. I’m probably just as excited as I was for my first Olympics but three is special. It is an elite club and I’m honoured to represent the maple leaf for what will be an epic trip to Paris this summer,” said Mislawchuk. “My first Games in Rio, I was just so excited to make the team as an underdog. Tokyo, I came in with a lot stronger odds on me and I ended up injuring myself, and now I find myself in Paris in the prime of my career ready to rip. I’ve learned a lot from my last two Olympics, and you can’t buy that information that I have learned so I’m ready to put it to good use over these last few weeks of preparation. I always struggle with the idea that I’m a role model or I will inspire others with my performances, but I just hope my story shows that if a small town kid who grew up in the middle of the prairies in Oak Bluff, Manitoba training in -50 degrees can make it to the Summer Olympics then anyone can get there and compete against the best in the world.”
Charles Paquet and Emy Legault will realize their Olympic dreams in Paris.
Paquet has been delivering the performances of his life on the elite triathlon circuit with the 2024 Olympic Games just over one month away. The 26-year-old surged to a seventh-place finish at the final Olympic qualification race in Cagliari, Italy in May. He posted a career-best fifth-place finish on the WTCS two weeks earlier in Yokohama, Japan. Those followed his seventh-place finish last year at the Montreal WTCS event, just weeks prior to winning his first World Triathlon Cup medal. Paquet is no stranger to representing Canada at a multi-sport games. A member of Canada’s silver medal-winning mixed relay team at the 2019 Pan American Games, Paquet also represented Canada at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and competed at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games.
“I am very honoured to represent Canada at the Olympic Games. It’s a long-time dream coming true and I still have a hard time believing it. The Pan American Games enabled me to prepare to experience something similar at the Olympic Games. I was able to see all the big aspects of major Games that could sometimes add to the stress”, said Paquet.
The 28-year-old Legault represented Canada at the 2023 Pan American Games where she was part of the bronze medal-winning relay team and placed sixth in the individual women’s race. Legault enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2022, rattling off four podium finishes on the Americas Triathlon Cup series in addition to two top-12 finishes on the WTCS. She also finished 10th at her first Commonwealth Games.
“Representing Canada at the Olympics is the biggest reward I could achieve for all my efforts since I started triathlon at nine years old. This little girl had big dreams and I hope I can inspire other kids to try triathlon and push for their dreams as well. It’s the hardest thing I have ever done, but I have no regrets. It has really shaped the athlete I am, and while I hope I can make Canada proud on July 31, I mostly hope I will do the same for the little girl in me that dreamed so big 19 years ago,” said Legault. “I’m grateful I could experience the Pan American Games last year, but I’m fully aware the Olympics are a different level of stress and pressure. Hopefully, with that Pan American Games experience in my pocket, the Olympics won’t feel as scary and stressful. I’m keeping my mind open and I know it’s going to be an awesome experience.”
The athletes qualified for Team Canada by meeting the criteria outlined in Triathlon Canada’s Internal Nominations Policy through their performances at World Triathlon Championship Series events between March 2023 and May 2024.
“This is an inspired group of athletes who have achieved their performance goals at every step of their development,” said Phil Dunne, High-Performance Director, Triathlon Canada. “With Tyler leading the team into Paris, this trio of athletes are rich with multi-sport games experience who are driven to support each other in a healthy environment while pushing each other to achieve their individual and team goals at the Games.”
The men’s individual triathlon will take place July 30 (Day 4) and the women’s individual on July 31 (Day 5) at the Pont Alexandre III venue.
“Team Canada’s triathletes master three separate disciplines with ease, showcasing their remarkable technical skills. The team’s hard work and unwavering commitment are truly inspiring, and Canada will undoubtedly leave an indelible mark in the Seine and the streets of Paris this summer, said Bruny Surin, Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Chef de Mission. Let’s cheer on Team Canada together as they give us three times more reasons to be proud as they swim, cycle and run their way to Olympic glory. Let’s go Canada!”
Team Canada’s triathlon team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games also includes the following coaches and support staff:
Marc-Antoine Christin (Montreal, Que.) – Coach
David Coleman (Juneau, USA) – Technician
Chris Dornan (Calgary, Alta.) – Media Attaché
Phil Dunne (Dublin, Ireland) – Team Leader
Didié Hamel-Jolette (New Liskeard, Ont.) – Athletic Therapist
Lauren Nutt (Saanichton, B.C.) – Team Manager
Team Canada has won two Olympic triathlon medals – a gold from Sydney 2000, which was the sport’s Olympic debut, and a silver from Beijing 2008 – both won by Simon Whitfield. The mixed team relay made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, where the Canadians placed 15th.
Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organizations.
The latest Team Canada Paris 2024 roster can be found here.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Chris Dornan, Communications Lead
Triathlon Canada
C: 403-620-8731
E: chris.dornan@triathloncanada.com
Tara MacBournie, Program Manager, Sport Communications
Canadian Olympic Committee
C: 647-522-8328
E: tmacbournie@olympic.ca