Oak Bluff, Man., triathlete Tyler Mislawchuk won’t get to compete in his final event of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.
Triathlon Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee announced Wednesday Mislawchuk has been forced to withdraw from the games with an injury. Mislawchuk suffered an Achilles injury in the men’s triathlon event on the weekend.
Mislawchuk was scheduled to race in the Triathlon mixed team relay event on Saturday. Quebec’s Alexis Lepage will now race in his place.
“It’s devastating not to have the opportunity to line up with my teammates this weekend in the Olympic debut of the mixed team relay due to injury,” Mislawchuk said in a media release. “It will be tough watching from the sidelines and not being able to contribute.
“That said, this also presents an opportunity for my friend and training partner Alexis to compete in the Olympics. I know he is up to the task and will make Canada proud. I will be supporting my teammates in their final preparations. and will be cheering them on with the rest of Canada.”
Mislawchuk pulled out of the Olympics at the direction of team doctors.
“Since the completion of the individual race, we have been working with our medical team to mitigate the irritation in his achilles tendon, but unfortunately there is still some risk of further damage to the achilles should he start,” Triathlon Canada’s high performance director Eugene Liang said in the release.
“Tyler is a world-class athlete who is driven to perform. Our number one priority is to always protect the health of our athletes. This decision is not made easily in light of how competitive all our athletes are.”
The 26-year-old had a 15th place finish in the men’s individual triathlon on Sunday in his second trip to the Olympic games.
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