Self-doubt, injuries couldn't stop this Quebec triathlete from reaching Olympic stage

Triathletes can have a lonely existence. Yes, they are part of a team, but in the end, it is an individual sport. The thousands upon thousands of kilometres they spend running, swimming and biking to reach their peak leaves them a lot of time alone with their thoughts, and a lot of time for self-doubt to creep in.

That's exactly what 28-year-old Emy Legault went through. The resident of Île-Bizard in northwestern Montreal got into the sport when she was just nine and showed signs early on that she had something special, competing in the junior world championships three times.

"I had that dream of going to the Olympics. But when I turned junior I felt like I had a shot at it more than a dream. I could actually aim for that and have it as a goal," she said after a training session at Montreal's Jean-Drapeau Park.

Expectations for her future were high, not just from Legault herself, but from those watching the sport. But once she graduated to senior, she plateaued. Legault was putting the work in, but the results weren't showing.

"It took me about five years before I could improve anything. It was five years of a little slower, barely faster, a little slower. So I had a lot of doubts at that time," she said.

But her coach never gave up on her. Kyla Rollinson knew the talent was there.

"It was really hard. It's hard to watch somebody that you care about as a person first struggle with self-doubt like that."

Rollinson has been coaching Legault for more than a decade, coaxing and cajoling to get the best out of her — showing compassion when she needed it, but being tough on her when she needed that, too.

"We worked a lot on her as a person. There was a lot of work on the human being," she said.

"It's hard to find ways to help them believe in themselves when the tangibles are saying otherwise."

'I couldn't believe what was happening'

Rollinson never doubted Legault would stick with the sport, although she would have understood if she wanted a new coach and a different environment.

But finally, things clicked. Legault continued to put the work in throughout the pandemic and then had a phenomenal season in 2022, nailing her first World Triathlon Cup podium, two medals at the Americas Triathlon Championships and a 10th-place finish at the Commonwealth Games.

"I've dreamed of racing that way and it all came together that year. For a while I couldn't believe what was happening," Legault said.

Legault was living up to the promise she showed as a junior. But then, in November of that year, she crashed her bike at the World Cup in Chile.

"One of the girls in front of me went down and when I tried to go around her, I hit the pole," she said.

She didn't break any bones but her hip took the brunt of the impact, messing up her alignment and setting off a series of injuries on the left side of her body.

"It's like, you finally give me what I want and what I've been working for and then suddenly you take it all back already? I was like, why? Why already?"

She spent 2023 trying to recover from the nagging injuries, knowing the Olympics were just around the corner. Her perseverance paid off. In June, she opened an email that changed her life; she would be an Olympian.

Legault will be at the starting line in Paris on July 31 for her first Olympic Games.

"I had some tears. It's been a long journey and it wasn't easy. I don't think anybody would say it was easy, but I had some really tough years to get there. So it all came together and I was excited that I could achieve my dream," she said.

"My goal is to come out of the race knowing that I've done everything I could for that result and that I left everything on the line."

Legault might not have made it without the support of her coach.

"I had a good cry in my living room." Rollinson said of Legault making Canada's Olympic team. "It is essentially a culmination of a very, very long journey for her and for me. Lots of pride, lots of pride."