Para sport Notebook: Stefan Daniel triumphs in Montreal at World Triathlon Para Series 

MONTREAL – Double Paralympic Games medallist Stefan Daniel of Calgary earned his first international victory this season on Saturday at the World Triathlon Para Series.

Daniel ranked third in the 750-metre swim, third in the 20.4 kilometre cycling portion and first in the five kilometre run to clock 56 minutes and 35 seconds in the PTS5 category. Tom Williamson of Ireland was second in 57.32 and Paralympic Games champion Chris Hammer of the U.S. third in 57.42.

“It was a bit of a relief for sure crossing the finish line in first,’’ the 28-year-old Daniel, also a six-time world champion, said to Triathlon Canada.  ‘’There have 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.

‘’It felt great to know that I was able to battle hard and have a great result heading into this next stretch.”

It was Daniel’s 34^th career international win in 67 starts and his 49^th top-three.

“’I’m glad I was able to have a good swim and find the front guys,’’ said Daniel, born with bilateral radial club hands. ‘’The three of us quickly pulled away from the field. 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.”

So far this season, Daniel was second last week at the World Triathlon Para Cup in Magog, Que., and opened the season with a bronze at a Series event in Yokohama, Japan.

“I didn’t have my best effort last week in Magog, so I tried to just have fun with it being back in Montreal,’’ he said. ‘’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.”

Rob Shaw reaches singles and doubles final at ITF 1 Series

Rob Shaw reached the final in both quad singles and doubles at the $32,000 ITF Series wheelchair tennis tour stop which concluded this past weekend in Geneva. They were his best performances this season.

Shaw, a two-time Paralympian and currently ranked 10^th in the world , was the number-one seed in the tournament. He defeated Marcus Lauden of Germany in the quarterfinal 6-1, 6-3 and fourth-seed Jim Woodman of Australia in the semis 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

The 35-year-old  from North Bay, Ont., was scheduled to play third-seed Gonzalo Enrique Lazarte in the final. Lazarte was awarded the victory and the tournament title in a walkover.

‘’Unfortunately, I ran into both a shoulder and wrist problem during the tournament,’’ Shaw told CPC. ‘’I tried my best to fight through it, but it was just getting worse and worse so I had to withdraw.’’

In quad doubles, Shaw and Shawn Courchesne of Brampton, Ont., won their two opening matches in straight sets before advancing to the final.

In the championship match against Woodman and Benjamin Wenzel, the Australians needed a third set tie-breaker to win 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-3).

Shaw and Courchesne eliminated the number-one seeds Lazarte and Ymanitu of Brazil 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals.