VICTORIA — Two Vikes runners are trading the cross-country course for the swim-bike-run of international triathlon, with
Colette Reimer and
Jack Screen set to race for Canada against the backdrop of the Swiss Alps this weekend.
Reimer and Screen will represent Canada at the 2026 FISU World University Championship Triathlon Aug. 8-9 in Nyon, Switzerland, returning to the world university stage four years after competing at the 2022 championship in Maceió, Brazil where they finished 13th and 46th, respectively.
Since then, both have continued to build their triathlon careers while training and competing with the Vikes.
Reimer, who helped the University of Victoria's women's cross country team capture a U SPORTS national championship last season, is coming off one of her strongest triathlon seasons to date. She placed fourth at the Americas Triathlon Cup in Montreal and 11th in Magog and currently sits 300th in the World Triathlon rankings. She has 48 international starts and no plans of slowing down.
"FISU is one of the races this season I am most looking forward to. Switzerland is one of the most amazing courses I've ever been to," said Reimer, who is aiming for a top-20 finish in Nyon as she looks to continue climbing the world rankings.
Screen has also competed extensively on the international circuit this season, racing at the Asia Triathlon Cups in Osaka and Lianyungang, as well as Americas Triathlon Cup events in Magog and Ixtapa. His 20th-place finish in Ixtapa is his best result of the season, and he currently ranks 724th in the world.
Screen joined the Vikes as a walk-on in 2022, using the university's cross country and track program to complement his triathlon training.
The individual races begin Aug. 8 with a 750-metre swim, 21-kilometre bike and five-kilometre run. Canada's mixed relay team will be selected following the individual competition.
More than 130 student-athletes from 32 countries and regions across all five continents will compete over two days in Nyon.
Reimer and Screen are among several Vikes cross country and track athletes competing internationally this summer. Canada West Men's Rookie of the Year
Henry Bristol and teammate
Hayden Woodrow are also competing on the World Triathlon circuit.
Bristol, ranked 276th in the world, is enjoying a strong summer, placing sixth at the Americas Triathlon Cup in Montreal and 10th in Magog. Woodrow, ranked 449th in the world, finished 13th in Montreal and 17th in Magog, while also placing 19th among U23 men in Antofagasta.
The athletes will return home later this month to compete at the Victoria Triathlon National Championship Aug. 22-23 before turning their attention to the Vikes cross country season.
