TOKYO-Canada’s strategy of allowing Matthew Sharp to be Taylor Mislochuk’s hometown in the first two parts of the men’s triathlon worked perfectly at the Tokyo Olympics.

But there is no plan for cramps.

On Monday morning, Mislachuk finished 15th in the scenic Tokyo Bay in 1 hour 46 minutes 28 seconds, repeating his final ranking in the Rio Olympics. Sharp ranked 49th in 1:57.32.

“You just can’t control some things. We control everything we can control, but it doesn’t exist,” said Mislachuk, who still turned over when he recovered from the game. “If you want to win, you can’t have any problems at the Olympics.

“You will never have cramps.”

Mislachuk from Oak Bluff, Marne, also finished 15th at the Rio Olympics. But for Canadian tea, officials hope that after winning the test match at Odaiba Ocean Park at 1:49:51 two years ago, Mislachuk will be on the podium at these Olympics.

Although Mislawchuk actually improved by nearly three and a half minutes in Monday’s test match, it was not enough to fight the best in the world.

“I won’t whitewash it, it’s just very disappointing,” Mislachuk said. “Let me, my coach, my training partner, and everyone who has helped me in the past 10 years of journey be disappointed.

“I’m here to win, to be honest, everything else will be disappointing, but it’s just painful.”

Mislawchuk ranked ninth at 17:50, only 11 seconds ahead. Sharp trailed his teammates by 6 seconds after swimming 1.5 kilometers.

The Canadian did a great job in cycling, and Sharpe set the speed for his partner, leaving Mislawchuk behind for most of the 40km stage. The pair is in the lead for most of the rides, Sharpe is second at 30 kilometers and Mislawchuk is fifth.

“My job is to keep (Mislawchuk) from having trouble swimming and biking,” Sharp said. “Unfortunately, swimming was not what I wanted. I was trapped in a bad position at the beginning and found him riding on a bicycle, walking to the front, trying to keep him out of trouble as much as possible.”

But before the second transition, both Canadians returned to the team, and Sharp later stated that he was exhausted. Mislawchuk added that after the first kilometer of four kilometers, his body began to stagger and the situation got worse.

“It’s just a bit paralytic,” Mislachuk said. “I have cramps in a few different places, and when you have cramps, it just paralyzes you.”

After finishing the work, Sharp said he was happy to cross the grid. After the other two contestants retired in the 51-man competition, he ended up in last place.

“My goal is to accomplish literally,” Sharp said. “If this is the case, I will walk.

“I’m disappointed that we couldn’t finish the work today, but it wasn’t because of lack of effort or lack of sacrifice. Some days it won’t happen.”

Joanna Brown of Carp, Ontario, and Emily Cretz of Blainville, Quebec, will compete in the women’s triathlon on Tuesday morning.

All four Canadians will participate in the mixed relay on Saturday.

The Canadian Press report was first published on July 26, 2021.