The world stage for pro triathletes is changing but the quest to represent Canada at the 2020 Olympic Games remains the goal for SaanichB次元官网网址檚 Matt Sharpe.
The 27-year-old celebrates his birthday on Oct. 21 and is currently CanadaB次元官网网址檚 second-ranked male among athletes at 36th overall.
Save the dates! Calendar for the Triathlon events at the Olympics has been revealed!
B次元官网网址� World Triathlon (@worldtriathlon)
Men's race: July 27, 2020
Women's race: July 28, 2020
Mixed Relay: August 1, 2020
Rankings, of course, can be highly misleading in the injurious and unpredictable world of triathlon.
Sharpe is coming off a 14th overall placing at last weekendB次元官网网址檚 CAMTRI sprint menB次元官网网址檚 elite race (750-metre swim, 20km bike and 5km run) in Sarasota, FLA. More importantly, Sharpe was the anchor as he helped win a silver medal in the CAMTRI mixed relay American Championships at Sarasota with Canadians Joanna Brown, Desirae Ridenour and Tyler Mislawchuk.
The foursome bested many of the top triathletes to post a second-place sprint time of 1:07:45 and are looking promising in the new event that has been added to the 2020 Games.
B次元官网网址淚t was a stellar effort from the entire team today,B次元官网网址� Sharpe told Triathlon Canada. B次元官网网址淓verybody executed exactly what they needed to do, and we were incredibly close to taking the win.B次元官网网址�
In August, Sharpe had another big result, finishing 17th overall at the yearB次元官网网址檚 biggest race, the Grand Final held in AustraliaB次元官网网址檚 Gold Coast.
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Recent qualifier for our Super League Championship Series later this year, find out more about Canada's very own Desirae Ridenour here!! 馃憞馃憞馃憞
B次元官网网址� Super League Triathlon (@SuperLeagueTri)
This weekend is another ITU World Cup race, Oct. 21 in Salinas, Ecuador.
But ITU and the Olympics arenB次元官网网址檛 the only groups mixing up the sport of triathlon.
Sharpe is currently ranked 11th overall in the highly competitive new Super League Triathlon, a made-for-television (well, online television) professional league that launched in 2016 and is looking to sell the sport to a bigger audience. Earlier this year the same Canadian quartet of Brown, Mislawchuk, Ridenour and Sharpe all B次元官网网址渜ualifiedB次元官网网址� to earn contracts to race in the four-event Super League (Penticton was scheduled to host it in August but was cancelled due to smoke.)
With their contract, the foursome are flown to each event and put up in a hotel. Sharpe finished 11th in points at the first event of the season, two weeks ago in Jersey, England.
The series continues next in Malta, Oct. 27-28, then Mallorca, Nov. 3-4, and finishes after a winter break in Singapore, Feb. 23-24.
B次元官网网址� Super League Triathlon (@SuperLeagueTri)
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When every second counts, the transitions are chaos! Everyone is pushing hard to avoid elimination! 馃槻馃槻
What makes the Super League Triathlon unique is that it mixes the formats into three shorter triathlons, swim/bike/run, run/bike/swim, then bike/swim/run.
Winners get a piece of the purse. The trick is finishing the race. If you drop more than 90 seconds back of the pack, youB次元官网网址檙e eliminated.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 hard, youB次元官网网址檙e on the gas from the start,B次元官网网址� Sharpe said. And thatB次元官网网址檚 against a field that features most of the top sprint and standard (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) triathletes in the world.
B次元官网网址淵ou can keep a decent level of fitness throughout the year,B次元官网网址� Sharpe said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been racing since February and will keep racing until November, so IB次元官网网址檓 not in peak fitness, but I want to maintain it.B次元官网网址�
The B次元官网网址減eakB次元官网网址� that Sharped aimed for was indeed the Gold Coast, where he was 17th.
After Mallorca, Sharpe will be done for the season.
B次元官网网址淲ith Super League, you want to be in that final six, otherwise they actually cut you during the race, so the goal is to complete that race,B次元官网网址� Sharpe said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a good opportunity to race and make money. But the Olympics are what IB次元官网网址檓 focused on.B次元官网网址�
