A FOURTH MEDAL FOR CANADIAN CYCLISTS AT THE PARIS 2024 PARALYMPIC GAMES
Paris, France (Sept. 5, 2024) – Nathan Clement, of Vancouver, BC, won Canada’s fourth cycling medal of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games by taking silver in the T1-2 men’s individual time trial held on September 4 in Clichy-Sous-Bois, on the outskirts of Paris.
World champion in the discipline, Clement finished on the second step of the podium, 1:17.58m behind the new Paralympic champion, Jianxin Chen of China, who clocked 21:35.78m at the end of the 14.1-kilometer race. Belgium’s Tim Celen (+1:51.86) took bronze.
“It’s special. It’s my life’s work,” said Clement. “Although I’ve worn different hats as a CP seven-a-side soccer player, as a Paralympic swimmer and now as a Paralympic cyclist, I’m very lucky, because many athletes don’t have the opportunity to compete in two Games, let alone two Games in a different sport, let alone stand on a podium and see the Canadian flag raised.”
Photo Credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Having both won bronze in the individual pursuit during the track events on August 30, Keely Shaw (WC4), of Midale, SK, and Alex Hayward (MC3), of Quispamsis, NB, both finished fifth in their respective events.
“I woke up this morning feeling great and super motivated, with the feeling that I was going to have a good day,” said Hayward. “I had a few problems, technical difficulties on the line that forced me to rely a little more on my feel today. And I think because I was feeling so good, I went a bit too fast and paid for it a bit in the end. I’m happy with my result and happy to share it with my friends and family.”
Hayward finished 1:01.68m behind the race leader, occupied by France’s Thomas Peyroton-Darter with a time of 38:28.80m over 28.2 kilometers, while Spain’s Eduardo Santas Asensio (+43.91s) took silver and Matthias Schindler (+52.55s) of Germany won bronze.
Shaw finished with a time of 22:09.19, just 29.95 seconds behind winner Samatha Bosco (21:39.24m), who was joined on the podium by Meg Lemon (+4.92s) and Switzerland’s Franziska Matile-Doerig (+5.09s). Her Canadian counterpart Kate O’Brien, of Calgary, AB, who had won bronze in the 500m track time trial, did not finish the race.
Charles Moreau (MH3), of Victoriaville, QC, and Mel Pemble (WC3), of Victoria, B-C, were also in action on the first day of road racing, finishing seventh and 14th in their respective categories.
“Seventh place isn’t quite what we hoped and expected, but it was a tough race,” said Moreau, competing in his third Paralympic Games. “It was a longer race than we’re used to, and until the very end, I was still in the race, but I lost some at the end. The others had a better race, that’s how it is. Tokyo was disappointing for me, so I was just hoping that everything would go well with my equipment, and that part went well, so I’m happy, but I would have liked to have been able to keep the pace until the end”.
Moreau will also be in action on Sept. 5, when he will take part in the road race at 16:05 local time. More information, including results and the full event schedule, can be found on the official Paris 2024 Paralympic Games website.
