CANMORE – Olympic race walker, Mathieu Bilodeau will represent Team Canada at the 2019 Pan American Games, competing in the men’s 50-kilometre race walk event.
From July 26 to Aug. 11, Team Canada along with Bilodeau, sets out to compete in Lima, Peru at the international sporting competition.
“It's a great opportunity to race with the best athletes," said Bilodeau in an email. "I have been on several Canada teams over the last years. I work hard to achieve those standards and this is the reward for all the time I put towards training."
Bilodeau’s athletic career started with triathlons. Back in 2003, Bilodeau made his debut on the international stage at the Pan American Cup event. Following the 2003 Pan Am Cup, he went on to compete in the 2003 ITU World Cup and then in the 2013 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships.
He then discovered race walking back in March 2014 after meeting three-time Olympian, Janice McCaffrey. Since then, Bilodeau placed 31st in the 2015 IAAF World Championships, competing in a 50-km race walk and only a year later, taking silver with his teammates, Evan Dunfee, Inaki Gomez and Ben Thorne at the IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships for the 20-km event.
Later that year, Bilodeau made his first Olympic Games appearance at Rio 2016. With plans to return to the Olympic Games for a second time, Bilodeau needs to achieve a time of 3:50.00 for a 50-km race walk by May 2020 in order to qualify.
Although Canmore is a more Nordic sport focused community, training for race walking can be challenging. Without a proper track and also with weather restrictions, there are often obstacles that he faces.
“There is no perfect place," he said. "My sport being a summer sport, it is sometimes difficult to train outside in Canmore especially since we usually have early and late winter. This means that I have to use the treadmill more often. It's nice from time to time, but when you train for a 50km, it's a lot of mileage on the treadmill."
Despite some of the limitations in Canmore, Bilodeau is thankful for the high altitude that gives him a competitive advantage.
“One thing that I really like is the gain from the altitude," he said. "I really see the difference training in Canmore and racing at sea level."
Additionally, Bilodeau trains with the Alberta World Cup Academy and while the group specializes in Nordic sports, he said that surrounding himself with professional athletes make a huge difference.
“I would not say that race walking is similar to cross-country skiing, but I can definitely see the benefits for cross training especially when I am unable to racewalk outside during winter time," he said. "The most important thing about the World Cup Academy is having a mentor like Chris [Jeffries] and being able to work with the best specialists in their field. Being surrounded by national and professional athletes also make the difference as I usually train alone."
With the upcoming Pan Am Games, Bilodeau hopes that it will prepare him for the World Championship in Doha and later down the road, for the 2020 Olympic Games.
“Being able to race with quality athletes, working on the final touches on fueling – what's working and what's not. Gaining more confidence and also travelling with the team. It may seem simple and easy to travel with a team, but it can be really energy consuming because you don't necessarily follow your own schedule and it's always an adjustment for me,” Bilodeau said.
