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Matthew Sharpe of Victoria said at 26 he feels like the 鈥渙ld man鈥� of a resurgent and very young Canadian triathlon team that is finding itself again after the Simon Whitfield era.
Heading the team for the ITU world championships from Sept. 14 to 17 in Rotterdam is Sharpe, sa国际传媒鈥檚 top-rated male, and Joanna Brown, the breakout 24-year-old from Carp, Ont., who has risen to No. 7 in the women鈥檚 world ranking after relocating this year to the Triathlon sa国际传媒 training centre in Victoria.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an upward trajectory as we roll into the Tokyo quadrennial [for the 2020 Summer Olympics],鈥� said Sharpe, a native of Campbell River, who rallied from a broken collarbone in April to place in the top 10 at two World Cup races over the summer, including fourth place in Hungary, and win the world aquathlon championship.
But it鈥檚 what is coming in Sharpe鈥檚 and Brown鈥檚 wake that has people taking notice, as this world championship will be as much an introduction to the Paris 2024 and L.A. 2028 Canadian Olympic triathlon teams as it is about Tokyo 2020.
The 17-year-old sensation Desirae Ridenour of Cowichan Bay will compete in the junior women鈥檚 race at the world championships after winning three gold medals at the 2017 sa国际传媒 Summer Games and golds at the European and North American junior championships.
Hannah Henry of Victoria, who won silver behind Ridenour at two international events this year, is also Rotterdam-bound in junior.
The Canadian men鈥檚 junior contingent at the worlds will consist of Aiden Longcroft-Harris of Victoria, Pavlos Antoniades of Trois-Rivieres, Que., and Michael Milic of North Delta. Tyler Mislawchuk of Oak Bluff, Man., made his Olympic debut last year at Rio 2016, but is still young enough to be racing in the U-23 men鈥檚 category at the world championships.
鈥淥ur young athletes are in good hands with [Canadian national team coach Jono Hall of Victoria], who will keep them patient and grounded,鈥� Sharpe said.
The Canadian contingent to the 2017 ITU worlds will comprise12 athletes, including Victoria-based 2016 Rio Paralympics silver-medallist Stefan Daniel of Calgary.
鈥淢any of the athletes we are sending to Rotterdam will be chasing podiums,鈥� Sharpe said.
That includes Brown, who joins a long list of Canadian international athletes who blossomed once relocated to the Island.
鈥淰ictoria has really gotten behind us with the national training centre and PISE and Canadian Sport Institute-Victoria offering such great support to athletes,鈥� Brown said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 worked out and is why I am where I am.鈥�
There is a sense of dislocation at first when athletes have to move across the country because of where their national team is centralized.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a change for the better, but it wasn鈥檛 easy because my family is now a five-hour flight away,鈥� Brown said.
The results, however, are there for all to see.
鈥淢aking the world top-10 has been a big achievement for me,鈥� Brown said.
Now comes a chance to make an even bigger move on to the world stage in Rotterdam and to follow that up next April in the Gold Coast, Australia, at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
鈥淭hese are big goals for me. I just have to trust my training,鈥� Brown said.
