Positive thinking powers Daniel’s drive for glory
Canadian training hard in preparation for world championship para-triathlon
Stefan Daniel has never thought of himself as disabled. To him, he’s just like everyone else.
Born with bilateral radial club hands, the 20-year-old’s right arm is significantly shorter than his left arm, but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming one of the best triathletes in the world.
“Growing up, I never thought of myself as disabled, or as a paraathlete. I love competing against my abled-body peers,” said Daniel, who will be competing in the ITU World Para-triathlon on Friday night at Hawrelak Park. “It makes me a bit slower in the swim, but I just try to do as best as I can. I never see it as something that hinders me.”
At 16, Daniel took part in his first para-triathlon world championships in 2013 and won a bronze medal. Since then, he’s won silver in 2014 and became a world champion in 2015. Last year, he won a silver medal at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio in his first Paralympics Games.
He’s built quite the resume in just a few short years, and he’s really only getting started in this sport.
“Rio was something I will hold on to forever. It was a special experience to have 200,000 screaming fans cheering at you the whole time,” said Daniel. “That was my big goal to get to an Olympics and to have it come true was pretty awesome.”
Growing up, Daniel didn’t have to look too far for inspiration in sports. It came from home. His dad was an ironman racer and his mother competed in marathons. His older brother Christian was born with cerebral palsy and was a member of Canada’s Paralympic swim team.
He shared a close bond with his brother and the two siblings pushed each other to compete at their best.
“He almost qualified for the Olympics in London (in 2012). He’s part of the reason why I don’t see myself as a para-athlete. He goes about life positively. He has a disability that greatly affects him, but you’d never know by his attitude,” said Daniel.
“We started swimming at the same time and we trained together a lot growing up. Just the attitude he brings was infectious. He was the slowest in the club, but he would give it more than anybody else and he was always happy.
“It was so easy to be inspired by him. He’s always been someone I looked up to.”
As a youth, Daniel was a paraswimmer and also competed in cross-country running and track throughout high school.
Looking for an opportunity to keep both sports together, he took up the triathlon. A para-triathlon is composed of a 750-metre swim, a 20-kilometre bike ride and a fivekilometre run.
He excelled as a runner, and was a great swimmer, but it took some time to build up his skills on the bike.
But a few modifications were made to his racing bike to accommodate his disability and since then his para-triathlon career has taken off.
“The biking was always new to me. At first it was scary. It’s hard
Rio was something I will hold on to forever . ... That was my big goal, to get to an Olympics, and to have it come true was pretty awesome.
to balance only having half an arm, but I just kept sticking with it,” said Daniel. “It’s still something I’m working on, but I’ve gotten better every year.”
Daniel is also a member of the University of Calgary’s track and cross-country running teams and he uses that training to continue to get better and develop his running skills for triathlons.
Competing against many of the top track and cross-country runners in Canada has really elevated his abilities as a triathlete.
Running is something he’s always excelled in. But winning a junior national triathlon title in 2015 was an eye-opening experience for him.
“Winning a junior national title was a big motivator for me because it showed I can be successful against anyone,” said Daniel.
After a hectic 2016 schedule, Daniel has focused more on his training than competing this year.
His race Friday will be just his fourth of the season, and just his second para-triathlon race.
He’s been focused on improving on the bike and he hopes his commitment to more training will pay off with his second world championship title at the 2017 ITU Grand Final, Sept. 14-17 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
“I’d like to get the world title back. I lost to Martin Schultz at the Olympics and last year at the worlds, and I’d love to get some redemption,” said Daniel. “He’s a great athlete and I respect him so much. It’s going to be quite a battle in Rotterdam. It will be nothing less than that.”