The Manitoba Triathlon has brought over a hundred athletes to the International Peace Garden this weekend with the Mixed Relay taking place today, and the individual competition happening tomorrow.
The 1500 m swim crosses Lake Stormon. The 40 km cycling portion takes the participant around the greater Peace Garden grounds following the roadway on both the Canadian and American sides. And the 10 km run takes place on the pathways along the flower beds in the central part of the Garden right along the border, the 49th Parallel. The Sprint Distance is half of each of those portions of the race.
Triathlon Manitoba Executive Director, Jared Spier, says this is the first year the event will be a World-Qualifier event at the Peace Garden, giving participants the opportunity to qualify and go to the World Championships in Spain in 2026.
"The bike course effectively just does a lap of both the Canadian and the US sides of the bike or of the Peace Garden road, and that ... the Canadian side is a roller coaster! It's just wild to ride on that and it's really quite fun. And then the US side is a little bit more of an engineered climb up towards where the music camps usually are, the dorm rooms and the campground," explains Spier.
"So, you get a longer climb on the US side that's maybe a little bit more steady and then the Canadian side, as I say, like it's just up and down twist and turn. It makes things pass really, really quickly because you're certainly more engaged than you normally would be on a Manitoba course ... which can, you know, often be going straight into the wind, turn around, come back. So yeah, it's quite nice to have that out there."
The Peace Garden has hosted the Manitoba Triathlon since 2019, and Spier says they've been well taken care of by the staff and volunteers. 
"It's really quite an amazing opportunity to have the run of such a beautiful venue. I can't think of a more beautiful place for a triathlon event. And I mean, I've had the opportunity myself to race across Canada throughout the world. And I mean, the Peace Garden is as good as it gets, really! So, there's, you know, more tropical, more mountainous places, but as far as a perfectly built racecourse, the Peace Garden's got a little bit of everything and the finish ... to finish along the border, it's so unique, it's so captivating and it's really rewarding to be out there!"
Please listen to more with Jared Spier below as he shares on the World Championship experience!
(All photos from Manitoba Triathlon Facebook and website pages)
Tyler Mislawchuk has demonstrated his unwavering determination on the world stage multiple times. Competing in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, this athlete from Oak Bluff, MB finished in an impressive 9th place, embodying his mantra of “Till the wheels fall off!”
