As signs go, this was a good one.
Victoria-based Triathlon sa国际传媒 has targeted a medal in the mixed relay event being introduced in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
So sa国际传媒鈥檚 silver medal Sunday in the Americas mixed relay championships in Sarasota, Florida, can be deemed an encouraging result. Matt Sharpe of Victoria, Desirae Ridenour of Cowichan Bay, Tyler Mislawchuk of Oak Bluff, Man., and Joanna Brown of Carp, Ont., posted a time of one hour, seven minutes, 45 seconds to place second behind the world top-ranked U.S. (1:07:40) with Brazil (1:08:00) placing third for the bronze medal.
鈥淓verybody really nailed their bit and did a great job,鈥� said Sharpe, from Florida.
The race was changed to a run-cycle-run duathlon format due to poor water quality.
鈥淚t was blue-green algae and similar to what we sometimes get at Elk Lake,鈥� said Sharpe.
But it didn鈥檛 take away from sa国际传媒鈥檚 achievement in reaching the podium against the best in the Americas after placing fourth in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
The result Sunday was only sa国际传媒鈥檚 second medal in triathlon mixed relay after the bronze won by Victoria greats Simon Whitfield and Brent McMahon, with Lauren Campbell and Kathy Tremblay, at the 2009 world championships.
sa国际传媒 is ranked No. 10 in the world. Eleven relay teams will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with host Japan being the automatic 12th entrant.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a battle,鈥� admitted Sharpe.
鈥淲e want to be in the top-seven [sa国际传媒鈥檚 2017 world ranking] just to make sure. This performance was a good way to end the relay season. We have good momentum and I鈥檓 confident we can move up the world rankings next year.鈥�
Taking the world No. 1 Americans to the wire Sunday was a confidence builder.
鈥淥ur strategy was to put early pressure on the American team, and Joanna and Tyler did just that,鈥� said Sharpe.
He then noted that fellow-Islander Ridenour is only 18 years old and was up against the best senior racers in the hemisphere.
鈥淒esirae raced beyond her years and stuck with the top World Triathlon Series athlete to give me a chance against one of the better runners on the circuit,鈥� said Sharpe, who raced the anchor leg for the Canadian team.
The Canadian team will meet the best in the hemisphere again next summer in the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.
