Manitoba’s Tyler Mislawchuk finishes 9th in Olympic triathlon: ‘It’s everything I had’

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This article was published 31/07/2024 (418 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PARIS, France — Tyler Mislawchuk has left it all on the streets of Paris.

The 29-year-old, three-time Olympian from Oak Bluff finished ninth in the men’s triathlon Wednesday afternoon in a time of 1:44:25, just 52 seconds behind gold-medal winner Alex Yee of Great Britain.

“I didn’t come here to come top 10, but for me it’s everything I had,” Mislawchuk told reporters after the race. “I went for it. It was absolutely everything.”

After pushing through a string of bad breaks over the past three years — from racing with a torn achilles tendon at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics to suffering a concussion in a bike crash this May — Mislawchuk said he stood on the start line healthy and didn’t hold back in his medal chase.

“I’m proud of the effort. You want more, but that’s all I had today.”

It was a grueling battle through the heart of the city and one that nearly failed to reach the start line after bacteria levels in the iconic Seine River postponed the race by a day. An early morning water analysis confirmed the river would be safe for competition on Wednesday after days of uncertainty.

But still the Seine would prove to be a source of frustration. With the sun blazing down on the pale green water, the 55 competitors battled against the currents on the 1,500-metre swim course, which started and finished at the Pont Alexandre III bridge.

The waterway that snakes through Paris is experiencing twice its normal flows for this time of year and – thanks to recent rains and bacteria – athletes were not allowed to familiarize themselves with the river ahead of race day.

Mislawchuk exited the water in 20th with a time of 20:49 – just over two minutes longer than his swim at the Olympic test event in Paris last August. And the Manitoban wasn’t the only one whose swim time appeared to be bogged down: both gold-medal winner Yee and bronze-medallist Leo Bergere of France saw their swim increase by more than two minutes, compared to their Olympic test race, which Yee also won.

Mislawchuk had a strong transition onto the bike for the 40-kilometre ride. Spectators lined the course by the thousands and the French chanted ‘“allez les Bleus” while the thrum of metal barriers being rattled reverberated down the Quai d’Orsay, near the finish line.

A squad of Mislawchuk supporters, who made the trip from Manitoba, lined the fence at the foot of the Port Alexandre III bridge. Decked in red gear and black bucket hats embroidered with Mislawchuk’s name, they watched intently as their friend whizzed into their view, cheering and hoisting a Canada flag each time.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to see your buddy race in something so important to him. We’re all pumped,” said Kiefer Sheldon, Mislawchuk’s high school friend.

About three dozen people came to the Olympics to watch Mislawchuk compete, he said. The group had arrived at the triathlon course at 6:30 a.m. to snag a spot on the course while Mislawchuk’s family watched the race from the grandstands on the Pont Alexandre III, Sheldon said.

A top-10 finish is a big win in his books, he said.

“We’ve been waiting for this day for quite a while now and we couldn’t be more excited,” added friend Andrew Proven. “When you’re in the race and you’re competing in the Olympics, representing Canada, it’s a pretty cool story. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Mislawchuk was able to maintain his pace to finish the bike leg in the 20th spot, in a time of 51:45. Onto the run, he came out charging to catch Bergere and his French teammate Pierre le Corre, and by the midway point of the 10-kilometre course, he was step-for-step with the two men, nipping at their heels and looking relaxed in fifth as he raced down the Quai d’Orsay at the Pont Alexandre III, with five kilometres to go.

However, Mislawchuk was overtaken around the seven-kilometre mark to drop to ninth. In the final stretch, he made one last push past his cheer squad on the sideline, rounded the corner between gleaming golden sculptures of the bridge, and past the finish line, completing the run in 30:35.

“The whole time I was saying 20-more seconds,” Mislawchuk said. “For the rest of your life, 20-more seconds, and I did that until six (kilometres)… but that six (kilometres) I ran out of a bit of steam.”

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“The last four (kilometres) felt like an eternity out there, but I just kept repeating, the rest of your life, let’s go, this is it,” he said.

In the end, he left everything he had on the course: “I vomited 10 times after the race. Got hot in the last laps.”

A reflective Mislawchuk thanked everyone who has supported his journey.

“I came fourth in the Manitoba Games – I couldn’t even get on the podium there – and 15 years later I’m fighting for a medal at the Olympics,” he said.

“Without them I wouldn’t be here,” he said.

Danielle Da Silva
Reporter

Danielle Da Silva is a general assignment reporter.

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