Canadian Para track cyclist Keely Shaw reached the world-championship podium in Rio de Janeiro on Friday with a third-place finish in the women’s C4 individual pursuit.
The Midale, Sask., native clocked three minutes 54.093 seconds to beat New Zealand’s Anna Taylor (4:00.732) in the bronze-medal final on Day 3 at the Rio Olympic Velodrome. Australia’s Emily Petricola bested American Samantha Bosco for gold by 7.690 seconds with a time of 3:46.317.
Fellow Canadian Paralympian Kate O’Brien finished 14th.
“I came to worlds looking for a podium spot, so it’s hard not to be happy with that,” said Shaw. “We’ve got a lot of key learnings to take away for this race. At the end of the day, we did what we came here to do, we got ourselves on the podium. I’m excited to take all these key learnings to the training camp in Bromont and see what we can bring to Paris in September.”
Team Canada’s four other racers were also in action on Friday, aiming to rack up points towards this year’s Paris Paralympics.
Alexandre Hayward of Quispamsis, N.B., fell just short of qualifying for the bronze final in the men’s C3 category, while two-time defending omnium champion Mel Pemble was sixth in the women’s C3.
Lethbridge, Alta.’s Lowell Taylor and Queensville, Ont.’s Ed Veal finished sixteenth in the one-kilometre men’s B tandem time trial. They will compete in the individual pursuit on Saturday.
“We have to highlight the performances of our athletes today, who gave us precious points by doing events for which they don’t necessarily have the preparation,” said national team coach Sébastien Travers. “We’re really pleased to be able to count on our athletes, who are taking part in a number of disciplines, to score as many points as possible for the Paris Paralympic Games.”
Canada has two medals entering the fourth day of competition in Rio, with Pemble claiming silver in Wednesday’s 500m time trial.