Canada's Sametz earns silver, Hayward bronze in men's C3 time trial at Para road cycling worlds

Canadian Para road cyclists Michael Sametz and Alexandre Hayward raced to silver and bronze, respectively, in the men's C3 individual time trial at the world championships in Huntsville, Ala., on Saturday.

Calgary's Sametz clocked 36:33.30, while Hayward of Quispamsis, N.B., finished in 37:03.18 for his fifth career world-championship medal. France's Louis Hubert captured gold in 36:03.41.

The silver medal marks another major milestone for the 30-year-old Sametz, whose resumé includes Paralympic bronze in the C3 time trial at Rio 2016 and back-to-back world titles in the same event in 2017 and 2018.

Sametz made a remarkable return to elite competition in 2023 after overcoming illness and injury that sidelined him for several seasons. He earned bronze medals at both the world championships in Glasgow and the Santiago Parapan American Games to re-establish himself among the world's top Para cyclists.  

“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,” Sametz said in a press release. “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, won the C3 time trial world title at last year's event in Ronse, Belgium, where he also earned bronze in the road race for the second straight year.

The 29-year-old carried that impressive form into this year, reaching the podium at both World Cup stops in Gistel, Belgium and Abruzzo, Italy.

“I'm really happy with third place," Hayward said. "And if you're going to finish third, you want to see athletes ahead of you who you