Canada’s Paula Findlay Wins Bronze Medal at Under-23 Dextro Energy ITU Triathlon World Championships

GOLD COAST, Aus.—Edmonton’s Paula Findlay wasted no time in raising the Canadian flag above the podium after capturing the bronze medal in the opening race of the 2009 Triathlon World Championships. Findlay finished third in the women’s Under-23 division of the Grand Final on Australia’s Gold Coast Friday morning.

The 20-year-old Findlay put down one of the best races of her career when it counted the most, posting a third-place time of one hour 57 minutes 15 seconds (1:57:15) against the best women triathletes in the world under the age of 23 over the Olympic distance.

“It was pretty much nearly a perfect race for me today, and it couldn’t have happened at a better time,” beamed Findlay, who has been fighting a series of nagging injuries throughout the season. “I really wanted to podium, but I didn’t know what to expect today because I have been hurt. I am just so excited to have won the bronze.”

Findlay executed perfect race tactics en route to the World Championship podium under ideal conditions in Australia. The budding star on the Canadian Triathlon Team maintained pace with a pack of six who came charging into the transition area after the 1.5-kilometre swim. The group of six worked well together on the bike, and opened a lead of more than two minutes on the chase group after the 40-kilometre bike, setting up a 10-kilometre dash for the podium on foot.

“I knew that I would be strong in the swim and bike, but with my injury, I didn’t know what would happen in the run,” said Findlay. “I felt pretty good for the first three laps and was able to hang on and get onto the podium.”

Findlay’s brilliant race is another giant step forward in proving she is set to compete against the world’s best triathletes. The young Canuck competed in two elite World Championship Series events earlier this season where she finished 15th and 16th.

“I think I still have a lot of work ahead of me, but this definitely gives me more confidence to race against the top women in the world,” said Findlay, who finished sixth and ninth in her previous two trips to the World Championships as a junior. “I’m just so happy with today’s result, and it is the highlight of my career so far.”

Findlay prevented a British sweep of the women’s podium. Hollie Avil, who was the class of the field, captured the first gold medal of the week after crossing the line first with a time of 1:56:38. Avil’s teammate, Jodie Stimpson, finished 14 seconds ahead of Findlay in second at 1:57:01. Britain’s Vicky Holland was fourth after clocking-in at 1:57:30.

Meanwhile, Victoria’s Andrew McCartney picked up where Findlay left off for Canada while leading the world’s top men in the under-23 category throughout the 1.5-kilometre swim. One of the most talented swimmers in the world’s triathlon circle, McCartney maintained pace with a lead pack of eight athletes for the first two laps of the bike portion of the race, but entered the transition into the run at the back of a group of 20 athletes.

McCartney, who qualified for the World Championships after a third-place finish at the 2009 PATCO Championships, fought his way into 15th place to finish as the top Canadian with a time of 1:48:22.

McCartney finished just two minutes, three seconds off the time to beat set by Germany’s Franz Loeschke, who jumped onto the top step of the podium with a time of 1:46:19.

Australia’s James Seear thrilled the thousands of hometown faithful who lined the entire race course, after clocking a silver-medal winning time of 1:46:25. Portugal’s Joao Pereira rounded out the men’s podium in third spot at 1:46:32.

Andrew Yorke, of Caledon, Ont., was the only other Canadian in the men’s Under-23 race, and finished 36th with a time of 1:52:03.

The Triathlon World Championships continue on Saturday with the men’s elite race. Both the men’s and women’s elite races will be broadcast on CBC-TV during the following scheduled times:

Saturday, September 12 – Men’s Final
12:05 EST
live on bold and cbcsports.ca, plus-one hour highlight summary on CBC Sportsweekend on Saturday, September 19

Sunday, September 13 - Women's Final
12:35 a.m. EST
live on bold and cbcsports.ca, plus- one hour summary on CBC Sportsweekend on Saturday, September 26

Triathlon Canada is the governing body for triathlon in the country. Recognized as an Olympic medal sport since 2000, Triathlon Canada’s mandate is to promote, foster, organize and develop the sport of triathlon, and its related disciplines, in Canada. For more information on Triathlon Canada, please visit us at www.triathloncanada.com on the Internet.

Complete World Championship Series Results (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run): www.triathlon.org
Top-Five Under-23 Women’s and Canadian Results:
1. Hollie Avil, GBR, 1:56:38; 2. Jodie Stimpson, GBR, 1:57:01; 3. Paula Findlay, Edmonton, CAN, 1:57:15; 4. Vicky Holland, GBR, 1:57:30; 5. Yuliya Sapunova, UKR, 1:59:48.

Top-Five Under-23 Men’s and Canadian Results:
1. Franz Loeschke, GER, 1:46:19; 2. James Seear, AUS, 1:46:25; 3. Joao Pereira, POR, 1:46:32; 4. Tony Dodds, NZL, 1:46:39; 5. Jonathan Zipf, GER, 1:46:41.
Canadian Results:
15. Andrew McCartney, Victoria, 1:48:22; 36. Andrew Yorke, Caledon, Ont., 1:52:03