Triathlon city: Elite and amateur athletes return to William Hawrelak Park for multisport race

Finely tuned athletes tested their training this weekend in the World Triathlon Championship at Hawrelak Park. CTV News Edmonton's Curtis Goodrum has the story.

How long would it take you to run five kilometres? What if you first swam 750 metres – and then went for a 20 kilometre bike ride?

Triathletes at William Hawrelak Park, some of whom consider themselves amateur runners, were attempting just that at the World Triathlon Cup on Saturday.

“There’s six races in one. There’s a lot of mental preparation around how you have your gear set up and how you transition between each of those three sports accordingly,” Jesse Meyer, one of the aforementioned self-proclaimed amateurs, said.

He trained for months – largely in the mornings before his kids woke up – just to compete. In a full circle moment, his kids now take part in Tri Champs, a local triathlon organization in Edmonton.

Three-time Canadian Olympian Tyler Mislawchuk was also among the competitors fighting for Olympic point qualification. He ultimately placed second overall in a tight finish.

“That’s the sport. It’s seconds here and there. Anytime you’re on the podium is pretty damn good,” he told CTV News Edmonton.

Do North Events CEO Stephen Bourdeau said triathlons are often viewed as a milestone achievement, but many fall in love with the gritty training and competition.

“Very often they’re hooked once they try that multi-sport experience … It just becomes a staple of their training and their life.”

He added that his group has dubbed Edmonton a sort of triathlon city given its involvement in the sport since its humble beginnings in the 1990s.

“It’s really because we’ve been involved in the sport for almost 30 years, from the beginning when it was just a fledgling sport. It wasn’t in the Olympic programme yet, but there was a really strong triathlon community here that was developing, and they had the vision,” Bourdeau said.

Edmonton is set to host the World Triathlon Multisport Championships, the veritable crown jewel of triathlete achievements, for the first time in 2027.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Curtis Goodrum