Paralympian Mel Pemble of Victoria raced to two more medals, securing a silver in the women’s C3 sprint on Friday and a bronze in the kilo on Sunday at the Para cycling world track championships in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, which concluded on Sunday.
Three Medals Claimed by Canada in Apeldoorn
Pemble drove her career world championship medal total to 13 with the multi-podium performance. She finished just 0.155 seconds behind France’s Tifany Huot-Marchand in the battle for silver and bronze during the Sunday session, as cyclingmagazine.ca reported. Beyond her podium finishes, the Victoria rider also lined up in the scratch race and the elimination race, placing ninth in both events.
Alexandre Hayward of Quispamsis, N.B., added a bronze on the men’s side for Canada’s third medal of the competition. Hayward took bronze on Saturday in the men’s C3 elimination race. The Quispamsis rider survived a chaotic race to reach the final three alongside New Zealand’s Devon Briggs and Great Britain’s Finlay Graham. Briggs ultimately claimed the world title, edging Hayward at the finish line, according to cyclingmagazine.ca reporting. The bronze marked Hayward’s second track world championship medal, following a second-place finish in the scratch race back in 2024.
Strong Finishes Across the National Roster
Jessica Law of North Vancouver secured four top-10 finishes in the women’s C5 category. Law reached the six-racer semifinal in the sprint, placed seventh in both the scratch race and the kilo, and took ninth in the elimination race. Hayward also advanced to the semifinals in the men’s sprint event.
Sebastien Travers, Cycling Canada’s Chief of High-Performance Sport and former head coach of the national Para team, evaluated the roster’s output. “I am very proud of how the team raced over this championship,” Travers stated to paralympic.ca.
Refining Performance for the Next Two Years
“We now have a good idea of what needs to be refined in the next two years to solidify our medal potential,” Travers noted regarding the timeline for the national squad.
