The PTVI men’s event made its Paralymic debut, at just after 8.30am in Tokyo on Saturday, with a stacked field of world class talent, which saw Brad Snyder of Team USA crowned Olympic Para Triathlon Champion. Behind him, Spain’s Héctor Catalá Laparra produced a remarkable run segment to chase down the silver Paralympic medal and Japan’s Satoru Yoneoka had the race of his life to earn bronze.
The sprint distance race, consisting
of a single 750m lap of the Bay, followed by four 5km laps of a flat and
technical bike course towards Ariake Tennis Park then heading north over Fujimi
Bridge and doubling back towards Odaiba. The final run segment will see four
laps of 1.25km, finishing in front of the grandstands on Odaiba Bay.
Brad Snyder, of the USA, was the
first of the men out of the 750m swim, in Odaiba Bay, and through the first
transition of the day, with his guide Greg Billington. Jose García and Satoru
Yoneoka were next through. Spain’s Hector Catala Laparra was second to last.
For the entire bike segment it was
USA’s Snyder who maintained a powerful lead then Kyle Coon (USA), Garcia and
Yoneoka, who were with seconds within each other.
Snyder is no stranger to the
prestigious Paralympic stage, having represented USA in two other Paralympic
Games, in swimming, winning two gold medals and one silver at London 2012 and
three gold and one silver at Rio 2016.
Nearing the close of the bike segment
Jose García incurred a penalty, losing time and pushed back into the field,
despite being one of the leaders out of the water.
Unfortunately Dave Ellis GBR, a top
contender leading into the Paralympic Games, was forced to return from the race
early, due to a mechanical.
Snyder was out of the second
transition of the day, with a significant lead on the other men. Six men were
chasing and within less than 30-seconds of each other, jostling for the other
two medals on the line.
It was USA’s Snyder that executed a
tactical and composed run leg, to maintain his striking lead and run away with
victory, to be crowned Paralympic champion at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
“It’s a big moment, because you spend
so much time visualising and hoping, preparing for it. Just like in Rio and
London, there’s no way you can possibly imagine how good it’s going to feel. To
be able to reach this level in a second sport is a really cool feeling.
“My life is not about winning. It’s
about challenge, it’s about taking on challenges, learning new skills,
expanding my boundaries and capabilities. I really felt I was kind of tapped
out in swimming. I don’t think there was a lot more I could squeeze out of my
capability in swimming. In triathlon there are so many skills, there is so much
to learn. There is even stuff I screwed up today. I didn’t get my shoes on all
that fast in transition two, so there’s lots of room for improvement.”
“That’s exciting to go into each
race, saying, there’s a little bit something I can do better. And that’s what
triathlon represented for me.”
An impressive surge on the run by
Catala of Spain saw him approach the finish line chute in Tokyo, with his guide
Gustavo Rodriguez Iglesias, to earn a brilliant Paralympic silver.
“This medal means a lot. Six or seven
years ago I decided to put all my energy into the sport and this is the result
of that decision. The silver medal is a dream for me.”
“It was the hardest race in my life,
but I am really happy with the result. The level in our category was really
high and the gap between all the guys wasn’t that big.”
“The temperature and humidity was
very high. I am from Valencia (Spain) where it’s quite humid and hot normally,
but this (heat) is two levels higher.”
“I really love the sport, I really
love to train hard. I love swimming, biking and running and thought, ‘let’s do
triathlon’.
It was a career defining performance
by Japan’s Satoru Yoneoka, who astonished a home crowd in Japan, showing
incredible class and was awarded Paralympic bronze. The Japanese para
triathlete was elated, expressing immense emotion, as he crossed the finish
line at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
“I am very happy. In the Japanese
national team we have a good flow of winning. With the bronze, I hope I can
continue that good flow within the Japanese team.”
Para Triathlon competition continues
at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on Sunday, with the best para triathletes in
the world racing in the PTWC Men’s and Women’s event and PTS5 Men’s and Women’s
events.
ABOUT WORLD TRIATHLON
World Triathlon is the international
governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of triathlon and all
related multisport disciplines around the world, including duathlon, aquathlon,
cross triathlon and winter triathlon. Triathlon made its Olympic debut in
Sydney 2000, with a third medal event, the Mixed Team Relay, added to the
programme at Tokyo 2020, while para triathlon was first added to the Paralympic
programme at Rio 2016. World Triathlon is proudly committed to the development
of the sport worldwide, with inclusion, equality, sustainability and
transparency at our core as we seek to help triathletes at all levels of the
sport to be extraordinary.
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