Manitoba’s Tyler Mislawchuk is going back to the Olympics.
The Oak Bluff product was officially named to Canada’s Olympic team on Monday for the upcoming Summer Games in Paris.
Mislawchuk was one of just three athletes to get chosen to swim, bike and run their way through France on Canada’s triathlon team.
The 29-year-old will attend his third Olympics after racing in the Tokyo 2020 games and the Rio Olympics in 2016, where he finished in 15th place both times.
“Third time’s a charm,” Mislawchuk said in a media release. “I’m probably just as excited as I was for my first Olympics but three is special. It is an elite club and I’m honoured to represent the maple leaf for what will be an epic trip to Paris this summer.
“My first Games in Rio, I was just so excited to make the team as an underdog. Tokyo, I came in with a lot stronger odds on me and I ended up injuring myself, and now I find myself in Paris in the prime of my career ready to rip.”
He’ll be just the second Canadian to compete in three different Olympics in triathlon.
“I’ve learned a lot from my last two Olympics, and you can’t buy that information that I have learned so I’m ready to put it to good use over these last few weeks of preparation,” he said.
“I always struggle with the idea that I’m a role model or I will inspire others with my performances, but I just hope my story shows that if a small town kid who grew up in the middle of the prairies in Oak Bluff, Man., training in -50 degrees can make it to the Summer Olympics then anyone can get there and compete against the best in the world.”
Mislawchuk has a real shot at the podium this year after ninth place finishes at two major world triathlon events in 2023.
The Olympic men’s individual triathlon will be run on July 30.