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Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Oakville triathlete brings wealth of experience to first Paralympic competition By Brier Dodge Metroland Media Group Sports 37 | Friday, August 5, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Don't try and tell Paralympic triathletes Christine Robbins and Sasha Boulton they need to hold back. The pair has smashed through barriers other coaches and competitors have set, said coach Michel Elibani. "There's a lot of stuff they're doing that no one else is doing," Elibani said. "They're sort of at the forefront." Christine Robbins, 38, is legally blind, and was tapped by Triathalon Canada and Elibani at a camp four years ago to pursue elite training after the triathlon was announced as a new sport for the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. Elibani figured it was worth a shot to see if Boulton, a 22-year-old University of Guelph student from Oakville, would consider guiding with Robbins. He didn't realize she'd been out with a back injury, and seemed to email her at just the right time. The shorter sprint distances for the Paralympics ­ the 750 metre swim, 20 kilometre bike and five km run is half of the Olympictriathalon distances ­ was a good fit for Boulton. After a back and forth with the Gatineaubased coach, she came up to Ottawa to give guiding a try alongside Robbins. They clicked right away. "We worked together really well right from the get go," Robbins said. Elibani said he realized as soon as Boulton first hopped on the tandem bike to just go down the block that she was going to be a natural fit. And 10 days later, the pair competed in Mexico. It was good, but it wasn't perfect. There were improvements that could be made to make the pair faster. In the race, which usually takes them just over an hour, every sec- ond saved adds up. Because Boulton competed at a high level as an individual, she knew where time could be made up, and started suggesting technical adjustments that other teams weren't doing ­ such as the time getting on and off the bike. "Mexico felt like the slowest transition that's ever been done," Boulton said. She suggested elastics to attach the clip in cycling shoes to the pedals ahead of time, a process used by competitive triathletes, but not yet being used by the visually-impaired triathletes and guides. "We just figured out how to get it faster. We were the first para pair to do that ­ then everyone else jumped on board." They weren't the team people expected to be breaking down barriers and pushing the limits, but they were, Elibani said. Robbins and Boulton have developed a strong level of trust between them, and a laid back `just try it' attitude towards adjustments. The tandem bike is heavier than a regular bike, so pairs were taking turns slower and wider. But the pair adopted techniques more commonly seen in individual elite triathlons to make tighter, more efficient turns. And, they developed their own form of communication in the water for Boulton to let Robbins know how far along in the swim they are, where Boulton taps Robbins on the head. Now, Boulton is spending her summer away from school by staying in the Old Ottawa South neighbourhood, near Robbins' Glebe home, as the pair prepare for the Rio Paralympics. She moved to Ottawa for the summer not knowing if the duo would qualify for sure. They took a bike ride to distract themselves the day of the Team Canada announcement, but only got 20 minutes into it before they got the call ­ they were going to Rio to compete in the first ever Paralympic triathlon event. "We threw the bike down and we were Oakville's Sasha Boulton, (above, left) will act as Christine Robbins guide at the Paralympics in Rio next month. The T.A. Blakelock grad, who now attends the University of Guelph, was considering giving up her own triathlon career after a back injury when she was approached by Robbins' coach to see if she would be interested in becoming a guide. | photo by Brier Dodge -- Metroland Media Group dancing in the street," Boulton said. The Paralympic Games, where they hope to finish in the top 10, was always the goal of training together. The Paralympics starts Sept. 7 and continues through Sept. 18, after the Olympics in Rio. Once the Games are done, Robbins will retire from elite triathlons. Boulton hasn't decided if she'll continue to guide after likely taking a break. She might coach, and has to focus on finishing her biomedical engineering degree and getting a job. Neither think they'll fully step away from triathlons though. The Paralympic pioneers have too much knowledge to pass on to the next generation of athletes. "I can't wait to see how fast it gets," Robbins said, of the future of the sport. "It's really special (to be the first ones). I don't now if it's really hit yet." Canadian women's soccer team opens Olympics with 2-0 victory The Olympics torch hadn't even been lit and already the Games were off to a great start for Oakville's Diana Matheson and the Canadian women's soccer team. Canada set an Olympic record for the fastest goal from the start of a match when Janine Becker converted a pass from Christine Sinclair just 20 seconds into the game and Canada went on to a 2-0 victory. Although the Canadians got the early lead, things quickly got much tougher for them. Shelina Zadorsky was given a red card and sent off in the 19th minute, leaving Canada with just 10 players for the remainder of the match. Canada weathered the Australian attack and nearly added to the lead when Becker was awarded a penalty kick. However, she was stopped, keeping Australia's hopes alive. Canada did add to its lead seven minutes later when Sinclair scored in the 80th minute to make it 2-0. Matheson, one of just six players returning from the Canadian squad that won a bronze medal in London, started at left midfield for Canada and played the first 69 minutes of the match. Canada's group in the Olympic tournament is the only one with three teams in the top 10 in the world rankings -- Germany (No. 2), Australia (No. 5), Canada (No. 10). That made Wednesday's win that much more important as only the top two in each pool are guaranteed playoff berths. Canada plays Zimbabwe Saturday at 2 p.m., then plays Germany on Tuesday. That game also starts at 2 p.m. Diana Matheson