Michael Sametz and Alexandre Hayward, Canadian Para road cyclists, secured silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the men’s C3 individual time trial at the world championships held in Huntsville, Alabama, on Saturday.
Sametz from Calgary finished with a time of 36:33.30, while Hayward from Quispamsis, New Brunswick, completed the race in 37:03.18, marking his fifth world championship medal. The gold medal was claimed by France’s Louis Hubert, who posted a time of 36:03.41.
For the 30-year-old Sametz, this silver medal signifies another important achievement, adding to his accolades which include a Paralympic bronze in the C3 time trial at the Rio 2016 games and consecutive world championships victories in the same event in 2017 and 2018.
After facing illness and injury that kept him out of competition for several seasons, Sametz made an impressive comeback to elite racing in 2023. He secured bronze medals at both the Glasgow world championships and the Santiago Parapan American Games, reaffirming his status among the leading Para cyclists globally.
“I felt really fast on the first lap. Everything seemed to fall into place, but during the second lap, I nearly lost my balance halfway through. I managed to stay focused and kept my head down to maintain my speed as much as possible,” Sametz shared in a press release. “It appeared to work. It was a challenging race in the heat, but I’m very pleased with the outcome after the past couple of years.”
Hayward, who previously played wheelchair basketball, won the C3 time trial world title at last year’s event in Ronse, Belgium, where he also earned a bronze in the road race for the second consecutive year.
At 29 years old, he continued his strong performance this year, reaching the podium at both World Cup events in Gistel, Belgium, and Abruzzo, Italy.
“I’m really pleased with my third-place finish,” Hayward remarked. “When you finish third, you want to see athletes ahead of you who truly deserve it, and that was the case today. Sharing the podium with another Canadian is incredibly meaningful, and I take great pride in that.”
The 2026 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships will continue through Monday.