Canadian Para road cyclists Michael Sametz and Alexandre Hayward secured silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the men’s C3 individual time trial at the world championships in Huntsville, Alabama. Sametz from Calgary completed the race in 36:33.30, while Hayward from Quispamsis, New Brunswick, finished in 37:03.18, earning his fifth world-championship medal. The gold medal was claimed by Louis Hubert of France with a time of 36:03.41.
The silver medal achievement is a significant milestone for 30-year-old Sametz, who has a track record that includes a Paralympic bronze in the C3 time trial at Rio 2016 and consecutive world titles in 2017 and 2018. After overcoming illness and injury that kept him out of competition for several seasons, Sametz made a remarkable comeback in 2023, securing bronze medals at both the world championships in Glasgow and the Santiago Parapan American Games.
Reflecting on his performance, Sametz expressed, “I felt very fast on the first lap. It seemed like everything was lining up, and then on the second lap I almost fell off halfway through, but I hung on and kept my head tucked to hold the speed as much as possible. It seemed to work. It was a hot race, but I’m very happy with the result after the last couple of years.”
Hayward, a former wheelchair basketball player, clinched the C3 time trial world title at the previous year’s competition in Ronse, Belgium, where he also secured bronze in the road race for the second consecutive year. The 29-year-old continued his impressive form into this year, making it to the podium at both World Cup events in Gistel, Belgium, and Abruzzo, Italy.
Expressing his satisfaction with the third-place finish, Hayward stated, “I’m really happy with third place. If you’re going to finish third, you want to see athletes ahead of you who you know earned it, and that’s exactly what happened today. Standing on the podium with another Canadian is incredibly special, and it’s something I’m proud of.”
The UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships for 2026 will continue until Monday.