Canada's Tyler Mislawchuk misses Olympic triathlon bid

Promising Canadian triathlete Tyler Mislawchuk tried to keep up with the pace-setters at the World Triathlon Grand Final in Chicago, aiming for a top-8 finish and Olympic qualification for Rio, but faded to 21st place in the run portion of the event.

The 20-year-old Oak Bluff, Man. native stayed with the leaders until midway through the run portion of the event when he ran out of gas, finishing in 1:46:43, a little less than two minutes behind the winning time.

Mario Mola of Spain topped the field in 1:44:53, with country-mate Javier Gomez, just four second back, and South Africa's Richard Murray in third. For Gomez, the runner-up finish was enough for him to claim a record fifth world triathlon title.

Two other Canadians joined Mislawchuk in the chase for a berth at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, as Andrew York of Caledon, Ont. was 29th in 1:47:17, while Oakville's Kyle Jones dropped out on the third lap of the run.

"My attitude was to get that top-8 and I went for broke today, " said Mislawchuk. "I went with the big boys and just didn't have the legs to stay with them."

Mislawchuk, who placed 10th in London in his first season at the elite level, came out of the water from Lake Michigan inside the top 15 and was with the lead pack for most of the 40 kilometre cycling portion. He moved up to the top dozen during the run, but was forced to back off during the third lap of the 10 kilometre run.

"I took a risk but I just didn't have it. I have no regrets. I went for it and that's my race style, "Mislawchuk explained. "I'm pretty disappointed, but that's racing. You just aren't going to have it every day.