Posted by Editoress on 03/24/18
Marie-Claude Molnar of St-Hubert, Quebec, was the top Canadian finisher on Day 3 of the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships, taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the Velodromo Municipal do Rio, the site of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Molnar was fourth in the women's C4 Individual Pursuit, racing against Meg Lemon of Australia in the bronze medal final. Keely Shaw of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, racing at her first world championships, competed in the same event, finishing fifth.
"It was exhilarating to be able to come in and put in a top-5 finish on my first race, I can't believe it," said Keely Shaw. "I threw down a PB [Personal Best], which felt really pretty good. I'm just thankful for all the support I've had from Sebastien [Travers - Para Head Coach], Guillaume [Plourde - NextGen East coach] and Cycling Canada, Canada Sports Centre Saskatchewan ... everybody's just been fantastic. I entered cycling less than a year ago, and to find myself here in Rio at the world championships, and a top-5 finish ... I'm blown away."
Molnar also raced in the mass start Scratch Race for the combined C4-C5 women, finishing tenth overall, but third among C4 riders.
"The races were difficult," admitted Marie-Claude Molnar. "We have worked on my times and I'm happy to get a personal best sea level time, and a great accomplishment. I look forward to working on from this point and to see if I can be even faster."
Great Britain continues to dominate the standings, adding three more gold medals on Saturday. They now have a total of 14 medals, including eight gold. Two world records were set on the day - Sophie Thornhill (Great Britain), the defending world champion and Paralympic champion in women's tandem, set a world record in her 1000 metre time trial ride, with a time of 1:05.079. Emily Petricola of Australia, in the women's C4 Individual Pursuit, set a world record in her qualifying run before losing in the gold medal final to defending world and Paralympic champion Shawn Morelli of the United States.
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