Manitoba's Tyler Mislawchuk withdraws from Olympic triathlon event due to injury

Tyler Mislawchuk of Canada competes during the ITU World Triathlon Series race in Montreal, Sunday, August 26, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)

WINNIPEG — Manitoba's Tyler Mislawchuk has withdrawn from the Tokyo 2020 triathlon mixed team relay event due to an injury.

Team Canada confirmed Mislawchuk has withdrawn, citing an Achilles injury during his individual race earlier in the week.

The 26-year-old athlete from Oak Bluff, Man., competed on Sunday, finishing the event in 15th place, with a total time of 1:46:28.

"Since the completion of the individual race, we have been working with our medical team to mitigate the irritation in his Achilles tendon, but unfortunately there is still some risk of further damage to the Achilles should he start," Eugene Liang, Triathlon Canada’s high performance director, said in a news release.

"Tyler is a world-class athlete who is driven to perform. Our number one priority is to always protect the health of our athletes. This decision is not made easily in light of how competitive all our athletes are.”

Team Canada said Alexis Lepage of Gatineau, Que., will be joining Canada’s relay team. This will be Lepage's Olympic debut.

“It will be tough watching from the sidelines and not being able to contribute," Mislawchuk said in a news release, adding he knows Lepage is up to the task.

"I will be supporting my teammates in their final preparations, and will be cheering them on with the rest of Canada.”

Mislawchuk previously competed in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, also representing Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games and the Commonwealth Games in 2018.