Scotland’s Colin Wallace won a silver medal at World Triathlon Para Series Yokohama to continue his rapid rise in the sport, with Michael Salisbury securing fifth place in the PTS5 race.
The Aberdeen native only took part in his first paratriathlon in July 2022 having represented Great Britain successfully in track cycling.
Wallace took an international medal and a British title from his first year in the sport and showed no signs of slowing down in taking silver in his 2023 season opener.
The 38-year-old, who has multiple sclerosis, reached the podium in the PTS3 category for athletes with significant impairments.
Elsewhere, Newcastle upon Tyne’s Michael Salisbury finished fifth in PTS5 while Leytonstone’s Oscar Kelly and his guide Jamie Price did not finish in the PTVI category.
Adapting to the rigours of the swim has been a challenge for Wallace and he covered the 750m Yokohama course in 00:14:56.
He went into the first transition just outside the medal positions with Germany’s Max Gelhaar setting the pace and surging into a near-two minute lead.
Wallace’s customary strength on the bike put him firmly in the medal mix alongside Frenchman Michael Herter and Australia’s Justin Godfrey.
The Scot used the run to blast past Herter and into second place.
He clocked 21:04 for 4.98km on three laps of the course, a quicker split than Gelhaar and significantly swifter than both Herter and Godfrey.
Wallace crossed the line in 01:10:57, 1:38 ahead of his French rival and exactly three minutes behind classy gold medallist Gelhaar.
This was the most significant result of the Scot’s still young swim, bike, run career.
He has clearly progressed since finishing fourth on debut at the 2022 World Triathlon Championship Finals in Abu Dhabi, with Gelhaar taking third on the day.
Like Wallace, Salisbury is also a latecomer to the sport and the Geordie showed his mettle to finish fifth in a strong field of 11 in the PTS5 category for athletes with mild impairments.
It was a promising showing for Salisbury in his first race of the season, closing out 2022 with eighth place in Abu Dhabi.
Salisbury was middle of the pack on the swim and bike leg, holding his own and in the conversation for a maiden World Triathlon Para Series medal.
He was the second-quickest on the run, too, his 16:46 effort bettered only by eventual gold medallist Martin Schulz of Germany.
But it wasn’t quite enough to raid the rostrum as he crossed the line in 01:00:.33, 1:23 behind Australia’s David Bryant in bronze medal position.
Kelly was the other British representative across categories but the visually impaired athlete’s day ended after the swim leg and he did not finish.
There are two more stops to come on the World Triathlon Para Series.
Next up is Montreal on July 8-9 followed by a landmark home race for Britain's paratriathletes in Swansea on July 15.
World Triathlon Para Series Swansea returns this year for its second edition having debuted in 2022.
The event in South Wales provides Britain’s elite paratriathletes with a home race as they seek to qualify for the Paris Paralympic Games in 2024, and also hosts pathway racing for the top domestic talent in the British Paratri Super Series alongside opportunities for anyone wanting to give paratriathlon a go.
