Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
Canada's strategy of having Matthew Sharpe serve as Tyler Mislawchuk's domestique in the first two segments of the men's triathlon worked flawlessly at the Tokyo Olympics.
But there's no planning for a cramp.
Mislawchuk finished 15th in one hour 46 minutes 28 seconds at the event along scenic Tokyo Bay on Monday morning, repeating his final position from the Rio Games. Sharpe was 49th in 1:57.32.
"You just can't control some things. We controlled everything we could and it just wasn't there," said Mislawchuk, still doubled over as he recovered from the race. "You can't have anything go wrong at the Olympics if you want to win.
"You sure as heck can't have cramping."
Mislawchuk, from Oak Bluff, Man., had also finished 15th at the Rio Games. But Canadian team officials had hopes for a podium finish heading into these Olympics after Mislawchuk won the test event at Odaiba Marine Park in 1:49:51 two years ago.
Although Mislawchuk actually improved on his time from the test event by nearly three and a half minutes Monday, it wasn't enough against the world's best.
"I'm not going to sugar-coat it, it's just super disappointing," said Mislawchuk. "Disappointing for myself, my coach, my training partners, everyone who's helped me along the past 10 years of this journey.
"I came here to win and to be honest anything else would have been disappointing but this is just gut-wrenching."
Mislawchuk was ninth coming out of the water in 17:50, just 11 seconds off the lead. Sharpe was six seconds behind his teammate after the 1.5-kilometre swim.
The Canadians excelled on the bikes, with Sharpe setting the pace for his partner, allowing Mislawchuk to draft behind him for most of the 40-kilometre segment. The pair was at the head of the pack for most of the cycling, with Sharpe holding down second at the 30-kilometre mark and Mislawchuk peaking at fifth.
"My job was just to keep (Mislawchuk) out of trouble on the swim and bike," said Sharpe. "Unfortunately the swim just wasn't what I wanted, got caught up in the beginning in a bad position, found him on the bike and went to the front and just tried to keep him out of trouble as much as possible."
But both Canadians fell back into the pack before the second transition, with Sharpe later saying he was absolutely spent. Mislawchuk added things got worse after the first kilometre of the four-kilometre run as his body began to falter.
"Just got some paralyzing cramping," said Mislawchuk. "I had cramping in a few different spots and when you have that it just paralyzes you."
Having done his job, Sharpe said he was happy to just cross the checkered line. He finished last after two other competitors dropped out in the 51-man race.
"My goal was to literally finish," said Sharpe. "I was going to walk if that was going to be the case.
"Disappointed we couldn't get the job done today but that wasn't from a lack of effort or a lack of sacrifices. Some days it just doesn't happen."
Joanna Brown of Carp, Ont., and Amelie Kretz of Blainville, Que., will race in the women's triathlon Tuesday morning.
All four Canadians will compete in Saturday's mixed relay race.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2021.
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.