'Totally happy with that one': Calgary para triathlete Stefan Daniel earns first victory of season
MONTREAL — Decorated Canadian para triathlete Stefan Daniel claimed his first victory of the season Saturday in Montreal.
Article content
The 28-year-old Calgarian raced from the front of the pack in the swim, bike and run sprint distance to win the World Triathlon Para Series event.
Article content
Article content
Daniel, a six-time world champion and two-time Paralympic medallist, covered the 750-kilometre swim, 20k bike and 5k run in a time of 56 minutes 25 seconds at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
Article content
Article content
The Canadian races in the men's PTS5 classification, which is for athletes affected to a low degree on the leg, a moderate level in both forearms, a high degree in one foot and ankle, or have absence of limbs. Daniel was born with club hands.
Article content
Article content
Montreal was the fourth of five international races in the para triathlon world series after stops in Devonport, Australia, Yokohama, Japan and Taranto, Italy.
Article content
World champions will be determined in October in Wollongong, Australia.
Article content
Daniel finished second to American Chris Hammer, who was third Saturday, on July 12 in Magog, Que.
Article content
'It was good today. I was totally happy with that one,' Daniel said. 'I didn't have my best effort last week in Magog, so I tried to just have fun with it today and enjoy being back in Montreal.
Article content
'My fitness isn't where I want it to be right now in the bike and the run, so the goal was to commit to having a really good swim.'
Article content
Article content
Daniel was among the top three men coming out of the water, which put him in good position for the bike around the Gilles Villeneuve Formula One track.
Article content
''I'm glad I was able to have a good swim and find the front guys. The three of us quickly pulled away from the field,' the Canadian said.
Article content
'Everyone is close on the bike and there are lots of fast runners in the field now so I just wanted to find the feet of the lead pack. I was able to execute the plan.'
Article content
After earning Paralympic silver in 2016 and bronze in 2021, Daniel was front-running in Paris last year when he crashed out during the bike leg.
Article content
'It was a bit of a relief for sure crossing the finish line in first. There has been lots of ups and downs since Paris, and it is normal that you experience a bit of a dip in motivation in the post-Paralympic year,' he said. 'It felt great to know that I was able to battle hard and have a great result heading into this next stretch.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
23 minutes ago
- Global News
‘Big Game' Hunter Lee sizing up opponents in transition from wrestling to MMA career
In a sport where weight class matters so much, 25-year old MMA fighter Hunter Lee isn't fazed by opponents 10, 20 or even 30 pounds heavier than he is. That was just the case in late May at Unified 62 in Toronto, as the 185-pound Lee jumped up to the 205-pound division and knocked out opponent Cal Kostiniuk. 'I went and had some all-you-can-eat ribs the night before so that I could be close to his weight,' said Lee. 'He's a big guy, like six-foot-four and I'm five-foot-11, so a big height difference. It doesn't make a difference to me, they've been calling me the 'Big Game Hunter' since then because I'm willing to fight anyone, anytime.' Inspired by MMA fighters such as Chuck Liddell and Canadian great Georges St-Pierre, Lee has become one of the country's rising stars in the sport. Story continues below advertisement Since winning at Unified 62, Lee is coming off a victory by unanimous decision over Chris Choo at a Cage Fury Fighting Championships event in Florida to improve his professional record to an undefeated 4-0. It's something that doesn't surprise Jesse Boldt, a muay thai instructor at Modern Martial Arts Center in Saskatoon where Lee trains. 'We know what it's like to go with Hunter in the gym,' said Boldt. 'So we know his poor opponents, how they're going to feel going against him. When he wins the way he does, it's expected because we feel it in the gym.' Lee's strength comes from a dominant ground game developed over his collegiate career with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies wrestling team between 2017 and 2022, where he'd become a national champion with the program and become an alternate for the Canadian Olympic team. First discovered by coach Daniel Olver with the Huskies' junior program, Lee's progression into the MMA world doesn't surprise the University of Saskatchewan coach one bit. 'It was always something that Hunter wanted to get into,' said Olver. 'We knew that when he was part of the Junior Huskies program and then into the [University of Saskatchewan] Huskies program, this was his end goal here. Story continues below advertisement 'In terms of seeing that success when he was a Huskie now being able to transfer into MMA, we always talk about how excellence is a transferrable skill. He was excellent as a Huskie, he was dedicated to winning and he's transferring that right into MMA. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I'm not surprised that he's having the success that he is.' For Lee, the wrestling background has allowed him to control fights on the ground more effectively while also having a framework to cut weight once he begins fighting more opponents within his planned weight class of 170 to 175 pounds. Calling himself the 'most ducked professional MMA fighter,' he said it's been a struggle to find opponents who want to go up against his wrestling background. 'With wrestling you just compete against whoever shows up,' said Lee. 'You go to the national tournament and you just sign up, whoever is in your bracket you got to go against them and you can't say no. In MMA, guys can say no and then they'll get a different opponent that's easier. 'I had a lot of problems with that earlier in my career. It's because my grappling level from my wrestling career is so much higher than what they're used to seeing.' Part of that transition to MMA life full-time has been gaining confidence on the microphone after matches, a trait which Lee believes helps market the sport and gain interest in young fighters such as himself. Story continues below advertisement 1:15 USask Huskies star guard Grassick named U Sports Female Athlete of the Year That came to life following his Unified 62 victory, as he called out a list of potential opponents just minutes after winning his match. 'I want to put on an interview that people want to see,' said Lee. 'For my first two fights they didn't let me do an in-cage interview because of the time limit and I was earlier on the card. I was like, 'As soon as they give me the mic, I'm going to make it worthwhile so that they want to give me the mic in the future.' I feel like I did that.' Hoping to one day advance through the levels of MMA and reach the vaunted UFC, they're dreams that were born in his hometown of Flin Flon, Man., and grown in his adopted home of Saskatoon over the past seven years. They're communities that Lee said he fights for every time he steps into the octagon. Story continues below advertisement 'I walk out to The Last Saskatchewan Pirate so I always got those roots,' said Lee. 'Even though technically Flin Flon is a border town, so I feel like I represent Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The Last Saskatchewan Pirate is my walk-out song, I always carry that sort of representation even into the UFC.' Watching the impact Lee has had on other fighters at their gym, Boldt added there's a sense of magic around his story and the paths toward professional fighting that others in the province can take. 'I think it's really cool because it gives the belief in other people from some small town in the middle of nowhere that they can do big things as well,' said Boldt. 'In small communities, it gives them hope where you don't have to be from Vancouver, Montreal or even Saskatoon. You can be from a small town and do great things.' Lee will look to keep his undefeated record intact later this year, as he's looking to fight at a Unified MMA event in Edmonton in October.
Winnipeg Free Press
23 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ogungbemi-Jackson knows what it takes to make it
Despite it being his 10th year in pro basketball, this past season presented challenges that Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson has never faced before. It started out in the Iranian Super League with a club called Tabiat, but with the country's conflict with Israel rising, the Winnipegger made the decision to fly home after just 11 days. 'I just said, 'Man, I don't want to risk it.' I knew my family wasn't going to be comfortable if I'm here the whole time with these things going on, so, I decided to come back home,' said Ogungbemi-Jackson, who played his first nine seasons all over Europe. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson hopes to get back on the court next season after undergoing knee surgery. 'Once you become a father and a husband and you have a family, you have to make those types of decisions. I could've stayed, the team was ready for me to stay and wanted me to stay, but they understood why I wanted to go home.' He wasn't on Canadian soil for long as, two weeks later, the 33-year-old signed in Germany's top tier with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg. Ogungbemi-Jackson hit the ground running with them by averaging 19 points per game through the first two contests. But then, two games later, his season was over. 'I just planted wrong and twisted my knee, and that was it,' he said. 'Obviously, I've logged a lot of minutes and a lot of mileage so that was kind of part of it.' Originally, they thought he'd be able to get back on the court after some extensive rehab, but after five months of working on it, it was determined that he would have to go under the knife. He had his surgery in Germany on April 3 and was told he'll need four to six months to make a full recovery. He's at the point now where he can work on things like ballhandling and shooting but still needs more time until he can go full speed. 'I've had injuries in the past, but never anything where I've had to have a surgery or something like that. It's definitely been a challenge, but I think all the experiences that I've had, having my family with me, being older, being more mature, I can appreciate the journey that I've had,' said Ogungbemi-Jackson, who played at the University of Calgary after making a name for himself at Garden City Collegiate. He views the setback as a blessing in disguise. Even though he was on the shelf, Ludwigsburg wanted him to stick around to take on a mentorship role since they had five players who were either rookies or sophomores. 'My whole career I've impacted the game being on the floor, so I wanted to see how I could impact the game being off the floor by just giving my advice to players and I genuinely feel like it was well received,' said Ogungbemi-Jackson. The experience also gave him some time to work on Hoops Vision Consulting, a business he officially launched last week. By offering mentorship, consulting and film breakdown, Ogungbemi-Jackson hopes his new project can help more players, especially Manitobans, reach their goals in the sport. He's had countless young athletes and fellow pros reach out over the years for advice, from everything from training tips to how one should go about finding the right agent. 'I just get so many random questions and I always found so much fulfillment sharing that knowledge, because growing up, I didn't really have that outlet coming from Winnipeg, a small town, which is on the rise in basketball now with a lot more things going on, but back then, we just didn't have those outlets,' said Ogungbemi-Jackson. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson (right) played for his hometown Winnipeg Sea Bears last CEBL season. 'I feel like this is something that I genuinely want to do, and I genuinely want to help younger athletes, or even pros just like myself, just kind of help guide them on their journey because I know how hard it is, I know how competitive it is, and I know what it takes to make it.' His career has taken him to many places, including Portugal, Spain, France, Finland, Denmark and Belarus, but, last summer, it finally brought him back home to Winnipeg as he signed on with the Sea Bears of the CEBL. The team ended up going 9-11 before getting bounced in the play-in round, and his role fluctuated throughout the season — especially after the Sea Bears added import point guard Justin Wright-Foreman — but Ogungbemi-Jackson still cherishes the fact that he got to suit up in front of his friends and family for the first time in years. He averaged 13.7 points and 3.7 assists in 22.8 minutes over 16 games with the Sea Bears. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'It's still an experience that I can say I'll never forget, and not every professional athlete gets to literally play professionally in their hometown. I don't think it went as good or as great as we would have wanted, but that's part of the game,' he said. 'Not every year is going to be perfect, not every situation is going to be perfect. You might not be in a role that you agree with or that you're happy with, but that's part of the game, part of the business. I think experiences like that help me with the business as well and just give me perspective… Yeah, it was a bit challenging, but it helped me grow.' Getting healthy is the priority right now and, once he is, his agent will find him another opportunity overseas for the 2025-26 campaign. He may be a business owner now, but Ogungbemi-Jackson's playing career is far from over. 'If I can go four or five more years, I will,' he said. 'As long as I'm healthy and I feel good and it makes sense for my family and I, I'll continue to play.' Taylor AllenReporter Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor. Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
The Province
2 hours ago
- The Province
Canada swim star Summer McIntosh primed to take worlds by storm
'I always want more,' McIntosh said. Published Jul 23, 2025 • 2 minute read Canadian swimming star Summer McIntosh. Photo by Manan VATSYAYANA / AFP/File Los Angeles — Three world records in five days put Summer McIntosh in rare company and now the 18-year-old Canadian swimming sensation is primed to take the world championships by storm. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors McIntosh won three gold medals at the Paris Olympics last year and then broke three world records in a breathtaking performance at the Canadian trials in June. The teenager is the first swimmer to set world records in three different individual events since Michael Phelps did it on the way to his glittering eight-gold haul at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 'Absolutely wild,' McIntosh said of the accomplishment in an interview with Canadian broadcaster CBC. Then she promptly pointed to a litany of things she could improve on in each race, saying the self-criticism is part of her mission to keep testing the boundaries of her sport. 'I don't think there is such a thing as a perfect race, at least I haven't done it yet,' she said ahead of the world championships in Singapore starting on Sunday. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'There's room for more and that's what keeps me going. And I'm also still so young, I have so much more to achieve and I know I can get so much stronger.' That competitive spirit runs deep in the McIntosh family. Her mother Jill competed at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in swimming and older sister Brooke is a top pairs figure skater who won bronze in 2022 at the world junior championships. 'We're very competitive. This is really in our blood,' Brooke once said. – Wanting more – McIntosh's rapid journey to the pinnacle of swimming has taken her from Canada to Florida, where she trained with the Sarasota Sharks from 2022 and through the Paris Games. After the world championships she will begin training with Phelps's mentor Bob Bowman in Texas, as she builds toward the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In the meantime she has been training since January with French coach Fred Vergnoux and his group in Antibes, crediting his contribution to 'the best meet of my career' despite the relatively brief association. 'I've gone way faster than I ever could have imagined,' she said. At the Canadian trials in Victoria she smashed the 400m freestyle world record with a time of 3min 54.18sec, regaining a mark she had lost to Australian Ariarne Titmus. She also broke the decade-old 200m individual medley world mark and lowered her own 400m medley world record. In between she threatened Katie Ledecky's latest 800m free world mark on the way to the third-fastest time in history. She also clocked the second-fastest 200m butterfly ever, edging toward the record set by China's Liu Zige in 2009. McIntosh launched her Olympic career in 2021 in Tokyo, where at 14 she was the youngest member of the Canadian team. She didn't win a medal but in Paris last summer she took gold in the 200m butterfly, 200m medley and 400m medley, and claimed silver in the 400m free. In Singapore she's expanding her program to include the 800m free and another mouthwatering showdown with Ledecky — one of the swimmers she idolized as a youngster. Now that she has established herself among swimming's elite, McIntosh has no trouble finding new motivation. 'I always want more,' she said. Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Soccer Vancouver Canucks Sports
