Marissa Papaconstantinou sprints to 100m bronze at Para athletics worlds for Canada's 2nd medal

An extended bus ride to the stadium due to heavy traffic didn't cause Marissa Papaconstantinou to lose focus and keep her off the medal podium at the Para athletics world championships on Wednesday in India.

After qualifying third in her heat earlier in the day, the Canadian sprinter was third in the women's 100-metre T64 final, clocking 13.06 seconds for a bronze medal in New Delhi.

It is Canada's second medal at these championships, with wheelchair racer Austin Smeenk of Oakville, Ont., earning bronze in the men's 400 T34 final on a hot and humid Monday.

Papaconstantinou also collected bronze in the event at her second of three Paralympics four years ago in Tokyo.

On Wednesday, the 25-year-old Papaconstantinou endured a two-hour bus ride to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Despite the delay, she believed there was plenty of time to prepare for competition until the bus came to a stop and "I ran off the bus and put my [running] blade on."

WATCH | Papaconstantinou earns bronze: 

Marissa Papaconstantinou wins a bronze at the World Para Athletics Championships

After the final, Papaconstantinou admitted it was not a clean race for her.

"It's not a bad result, considering some of those variables," Papaconstantinou told Athletics Canada, referring to the long bus ride. "[Being] back on the podium is always nice, so I can't complain."

The world record holder and two most recent athletes to own the world championship mark were the only runners to beat Papaconstantinou on this day.

Fleur Jong led a 1-2 finish for the Netherlands with a 12.29-second performance ahead of Marlene van Gansewinkel (12.86). 

Jong's 12.27 effort in the heats lowered her teammate's championship mark of 12.78 that stood since Nov. 12, 2019. Jong has held