Powerful performances highlight Paris Paralympics

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Good morning everyone,

The last few days I’ve been back in Canada for a good friend’s wedding, and I may have had to shift around a few workouts in order to fully enjoy the celebrations. With a race going down in a couple of weeks I may be feeling a little extra pain when the gun goes off, but longer term I’ll always have incredible memories made with lifelong friends.

And in reality, if I’d worn a heart rate monitor while on the dance floor, I’m sure I would have hit at least zone 3! 💃🤣

In today’s edition:

• 🥇 Powerful performances highlight Paris Paralympics.

• 🔪 How much protein do you really need?

• 🤸‍♂️ And a warmup drill to turbocharge your next run workout!

Thanks for being here.

-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor

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ONE BIG THING

Powerful Performances Highlight Paris Paralympics

What is it: After a delay and race day consolidation due to water quality issues in the River Seine, the Paralympic triathletes had their opportunity to compete on the sport’s biggest stage.

Déjà vu delay: For fans of Olympic and Paralympic triathlon it was Déjà vu when, on Thursday, World Triathlon announced that due to water quality issues, the Paratriathlon events originally scheduled for September 1st would be moved to September 2nd.

• This ensured “Monday Madness” in which all the Paratriathlon events would be held on the same day.

Wheelchair wonders: Monday’s races kicked off with the PTWC category and Paralympic icon Jetze Palt (NED) delivered his record-setting third Paralympic gold medal.

• Australia’s Lauren Parker, who came out on the wrong side of Tokyo’s incredible sprint finish, made no mistake in claiming her first Paralympic gold medal by a huge margin.

Visually impaired victories: Dr. Susanna Rodriguez has been the most dominant visually impaired athlete for years, and was even recently honored with her own Barbie doll. And she made no mistakes enroute to her second Paralympic gold medal.

• In the men’s PTVI event, Dave Ellis (GBR) and guide Luke Pollard stole the show on the Seine.

Standing sensations: The women’s PTS2 event, arguably the most competitive Paralympic race, was always going to be a hotly contested battle between past Paralympic medalists Melissa Stockwell (USA), Veronica Yoko Plebani (ITA), Alyssa Seely (USA) and Hailey Danz (USA). All told an incredible bike split from Danz allowed her to pull away from the pack and take her first-ever Paralympic gold medal.

The men’s PTS5 race was shaping up to be another Paralympic gold for Canada’s Stefan Daniel until disaster struck when a bike crash saw him lose significant time. Chris Hammer (USA) escaped the bike unscathed and put the hammer down on the run claiming his first-ever Paralympic gold medal.

• Alexis Hanquinquant (FRA) wowed the French crowds while taking gold in the PTS4 category.

• Grace Norman (USA) reclaimed her crown in the women’s PTS5 race.

• France’s Jules Ribstein (PTS2), Spain’s Daniel Molina (PTS3), and Great Britain’s Megan Richter (PTS4) all claimed their first-ever Paralympic gold medals.

Get full Paralympic results here. 

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FAVORITES

🔪 Your optimal protein: Protein is having a moment as new research seems to show that we may not be getting enough. Now, sports nutritionists and fitness influencers alike are extolling the virtues of a higher protein existence. But how can you know exactly how much protein you need? A good place to start is this optimal protein calculator. [Examine]

⚡ Supplement success: It’s a wonder supplement that will help you buffer lactic acid well and perform better, and it might be sitting in the back of your fridge?!? Sodium bicarbonate has been proven to improve performance in shorter endurance events. But a new paper is now saying this supplement can help you be even better during longer competitions like half and full-distance races. [Outside]

🤸‍♂️ Better warmup, better workout: Are you getting the most out of every stride? Well if you’re not properly warmed up for your runs you may be missing out on some easy performance gains. Warm up better with the triple extension activation exercise. [YouTube]

🤑 Spending optimization: It can be easy to get carried away with spending money on triathlon gear. So how do you know which items it makes sense to splurge on, and where to save your pennies? This insightful Reddit thread has great info on how to get the best return for your gear dollars. [Reddit]

REEL TIME

Signed up for your first IRONMAN without having a coach? The results speak fro themselves! 😆

Link to reel.

QUICK NEWS

East Sussex swim canceled: Athletes hoping to compete the entire East Sussex triathlon will have to wait for another day as the swim was canceled due to water quality issues. [BBC]

South Dakota success: The University of South Dakota women’s triathlon team had a successful season opener at this past weekend’s South Hills Collegiate Cup. [GoYotes]

Triathlon criminal: Edmonton Police are looking for any tips to help identify a motorist who weaved through a police barricade and sped through the recent America’s Cup Triathlon at 138km/h. Athletes were still competing at the time. [City News]

RACE WEEKEND

IRONMAN 70.3 Zell Am See

Caroline Pohle (GER) won for her second weekend in a row, and Mika Noodt (GER) dominated the bike to take a strong win.

Full results

IRONMAN 70.3 Poznan

Emil Holm, fresh off competing at the Paris Olympics won his first 70.3, while Marlene De Boer used a masterclass in all three disciplines to take the win in Poland.

Full results

TEMPO EXCLUSIVE ARCHIVE

• Why you need to train faster (not harder!) - vol. 2

• Are you making the four most common nutrition mistakes?

• After chaos in the cycling industry, this executive is ready for a rebound. 

LATEST EDITIONS

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