London, UK: Paula Findlay is recognised for mega double-sport winning weekend after being voted as PTO’s June Athlete of the Month – for the first time.
Pulling off a show-stopping 72 hours in Quebec from 21-23 June, superstar Findlay, current PTO world #5, won the Canadian Time Trial Championship, then just days later, stormed to victory at Ironman 70.3 Mont-Tremblant.
After a turbulent week in the run up to race day; 1 lost bike, 2.5 days of phone calls to track down said bike and countless offerings from fans as bike replacement, Paula wrote on Instagram in the wake of her TT triumph: “proud that I was able to switch from chaos into race mode and let my body do what it knows how to do. I felt great and held my best power ever over the distance.”
Two days later, it was a matter of battling the natural elements. Extreme weather meant the swim at Mont-Tremblant was reduced to 1.2km as a safety precaution. But with weather worsening, the swim was later cancelled for age group competitors. Paula carried out a fast bike and run to take the win by nearly four minutes.
Writing on her socials the following day she stated:
“You don’t know unless you try, eh. Very proud to pull off the double race weekend here in Quebec. The conditions were absolutely awful yesterday and scary at times, but I loved the course and I loved being here in Mont Tremblant. It’s actually my first 70.3 win on Canadian soil!”
A panel of triathlon media including Triathlon Magazine, Global Triathlon Network (GTN), Tri-Mag.de & Triathlete voted on their 1, 2, 3 from a four-athlete shortlist – awarding 3 points for #1, 2 pts for #2 and 1 pt for #3. Triathlon fans also voted via the T100 social handles.
Listed among three other ultra competitive contenders, Findlay came out on top against San Francisco T100 women’s winner Taylor Knibb and the two PTO contracted men involved in “triathlon’s greatest race”, New Zealander Kyle Smith and Belgian Marten Van Riel.
With only one point in it, judges’ marks were close. Findlay with 11 points was narrowly followed by Taylor Knibb, with Marten Van Riel in third.
Reacting to her win she said:
“Wow, it’s really nice to be recognised, thank you to the PTO and to everyone who voted for me! There were many great performances by different athletes this month so I’m honoured to even be nominated. Racing the TT and Mt Tremblant double was ambitious, but a fun challenge that I was able to pull off hugely thanks to the support around me.”
Recently withdrawing from next stop, London T100, Paula posted, “After 6 races this year, I feel like I need a break… There are still 6 races to go between September and December that I want to be healthy, motivated and fast for.”
The next T100 race will be in London on 27-28 July where seven British women lead by T100 series leader Lucy Charles-Barclay and two British men – Double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee and Scotland’s David McNamee – will be hoping to win their home race. For details of how to watch and start times around the globe visit: London T100 details.
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For Further Information:
Anthony Scammell E: [email protected]
About Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO)
The PTO is a sports body that is co-owned by its professional athletes, seeking to elevate and grow the sport of triathlon and take it to the next level. The T100 Triathlon World Tour is the new name for the PTO Tour and has been designated by World Triathlon as the ‘official World Championship for long distance triathlon’. It is a season-long schedule of eight T100 races during 2024 that will be competed over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run) and will feature the world’s best triathletes going head-to-head in Miami (9 March), Singapore (13-14 April), San Francisco (8-9 June), London (27-28 July), Ibiza (28-29 September), Lake Las Vegas (19-20 October), Dubai (16-17 November) and at the Grand Final (29-30 November). There will also be racing opportunities for amateurs at all the events, including the new 100km distance at six stages, including: Singapore, London, Ibiza, Lake Las Vegas, Dubai and at the Grand Final. The global broadcast shows the races live around the world in 195+ territories, courtesy of the PTO’s partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery as well as a range of other international, regional and local broadcasters.
