Canada's Ouellet, Borgella surge to bronze at World Para Athletics Championships

Racing in fourth place with only 200 metres remaining, Canada's Guillaume Ouellet used one final burst of energy to zoom past his competition and earn a bronze medal Monday at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris.

Ouellet, of Victoriaville, Que., claimed his bronze in the men's 5000m T13 final.

The 36-year-old racer finished in a time of 15 minutes 22.85 seconds. Spain's Yassine Ouhdadi El Ataby took the gold in 15:16.97, while Jaryd Clifford of Australia finished with the silver medal at 15:18.23.

WATCH | Ouellet claims bronze:

Guillaume Ouellet earns Canada's 1st medal at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships

1 year ago

Duration 21:56

Guillaume Ouellet of Victoriaville, Que., ran to a bronze medal in the men's 5,000 metre T13 final at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris.

"I knew it would be a really tactical race. It was probably more tactical than I expected so I was ready for the last lap and I [fought] for my position," said Ouellet.

"I was fourth with 200 [metres] to go and I just kicked as hard as I [could] to keep Canada in third place so I was really happy about the plan, really happy about the results."

At the Dubai Worlds in 2019, Ouellet finished just off the podium with a time of 14:45.63. A few weeks earlier, in the same event, he had received the gold medal at the Parapan American Games in Lima.

Meanwhile, Borgella's time of 12.16 seconds was just enough to edge out Ireland's Orla Comerford for a spot on the podium.

WATCH | Borgella earns bronze:

Canada's Bianca Borgella blazes to bronze in women's world championship 100m T13

1 year ago

Duration 7:02

Bianca Borgella of Rockland, Ont., ran to a bronze medal in the women's 100 metre T13 race, at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris.

Azerbaijan's Lamiya Valieva claimed gold in a photo finish over Spain's Adi Iglesias.

Borgella, the Rockland, Ont., native who trains in Ottawa, advanced to the final by setting a Canadian record of 12.03 seconds in the event. The previous personal best for the world-championship rookie was 12.12 seconds in May.

"I felt really confident going into it. I was prepared, went into it with a positive mindset and the moment I heard the gun, just went for it," Borgella, 20, said.

The 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris got off to an exciting start on Sunday, headlined by a world record performance and 11 gold medals.

WATCH | Canadian Para athletes ready for World Para Athletics Championships:

'It's our turn': Canada's Para athletes are ready for the World Para Athletics Championships | Athletics North

1 year ago

Duration 4:07

We spoke to Athletics Canada's Para high-performance lead, Carla Nicholls, who let us know the team is hungry to put on a show for Canada and #FightToTheFinish at the World Para Athletics Championships.

Watch live coverage of the World Para Athletics Championships on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem. Coverage from Paris continues Monday at 12:30 p.m. ET with the Day 3 evening session.