From Ile-Perrot to Paris, a Montreal triathlete's training pays off

Emy Legault of Canada competes in the women's individual triathlon at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, Friday, July 29, 2022. (Rui Vieira, The Canadian Press)

It's an early Saturday morning and rain is in the forecast.

For Emy Legault, braving the elements is part of her Olympic training.

"We know we can deal with different weather conditions on race day. For us, it doesn't really matter if it's raining or if it's sunny outside. We practice for every condition," she said.

As a triathlete, Emy has three sports to master - running, swimming and cycling.

For training, she keeps things interesting.

"It's always different. There's always something different in the training. There's so many things to do and to train for. I think it's just the diversity of the sport. Those three disciplines."

Discipline is something she has more than her share of.

With the Paris Olympic Games at the end of July, Legault says there's little time for rest.

"Sometimes I get Mondays off," she said.

At 28 years old, training for the Olympics has been a labour of love since she was nine, growing up in Île-Perrot, west of Montreal. 

Her journey from aspiring athlete to Olympian is thanks to her sister.

"I actually just followed my sister footsteps," she said. "She saw like a little running cross-country thing at school, and she wanted to try it. She actually thought it was just some sort of game in the woods and didn't really know what it was."

She may have found the sport accidentally, but her commitment earned her the 2023 Stewart Mankofsky memorial trophy.

The city of Cote St. Luc, where she trains, selected Legault for her dedication and sportsmanship.

"It was an honour," she said. "I think in the city, there's a lot of really good athletes and everything, so to be able to get this, I was really excited for it."

With excitement building for the Paris games, she's already got her eye on qualifying for the next Olympics.

"As much as I'm excited for the Olympics coming, there's a bunch of things I want to do better for the next one," she said. "So I'm kind of excited to just start it all over again with the new campaign for 2028."