As the host country for the very first time in the history of the UCI Para-track World Championships, Canada won a total of four medals this past weekend at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton Ontario. Over 150 athletes from more than 30 nations competed in the world championships including seven riders from Canada.
Team Canada
- Tristen Chernove – Cranbrook, BC
- Ross Wilson – Sherwood Park, AB
- Lowell Taylor & Ed Veal (Pilot) – Lethbridge, AB & Queensville, ON
- Marie-Claude Molnar – Longueuil, QC
- Keely Shaw – Saskatoon, SK
- Kate O’Brien – Calgary, AB
Calgary’s Kate O’Brien who recently joined Cycling Canada’s Para program won a world record-breaking gold medal in the Women’s C4 500m Time Trial with a time of 35.223. O’Brien is no stranger to international racing; she competed in the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 with Team Canada before suffering a head injury on a training ride that took her out of the sport and led her to pursue the Para program as a pathway back to competitive cycling. This was her first international para competition. She would go on to set another new world record in the C4 Women’s 200m Time Trial with a time of 11.519, shattering the old record of 12.957 set by Nikita Howarth of New Zealand in 2018.
Cranbrook, BC’s, Tristen Chernove, scored Canada a hat-trick of silver medals in front of the home crowd after 2nd place finishes in the Men’s C2 Kilo Time Trial, Scratch Race, and the overall Omnium. It was also a world record-breaking weekend for Chernove who broke the world record in the Men’s C2 Kilo Time Trial and the Men’s C2 200m Time Trial but he was bested in both events by first-place finisher and new world record holder Alexandre Leaute of France.
It was an overall strong performance from the Canadian team with several riders setting new personal bests and new Canadian records, including the new Canadian men’s tandem team of Lowell Taylor and his pilot Ed Veal in the 1,000-metre time trial. Canada’s three silver medals and one gold placed the canucks ninth overall in the medal count at the Para Track Cycling World Championships. China would lead all nations by taking home a total of 21 medals (9 gold, 5 silver, and 7 bronze). This is the last international track cycling event ahead of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo this summer.
Official Results from 2020 Para Track Cycling World Championships (PDF)