Kim Boutin, Steven Dubois and Pascal Dion on top of the leaderboard after opening day of short track racing
QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC – The second day of the Canadian Speed Skating Championships presented by Intact Insurance saw four different skaters – Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin, Laurent Dubreuil and Ted-Jan Bloemen – earn a national title in front of a passionate crowd at the Centre de glace Intact Assurance in Quebec City.
Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.) put forth an incredible performance in the women’s 5000m, crossing the line with a time of 6:48.585 to set a new track record. She was joined on the podium by her Beijing 2022 gold medalist teammates in the Team Pursuit, Ivanie Blondin and Valérie Maltais, who clocked in at 7:02.001 and 7:11.210, respectively. It was Weidemann’s second consecutive title, having also won the women’s 3000m yesterday.
Ottawa’s Blondin was the women’s 1000m champion (1:15.832) earlier in the day, finishing comfortably ahead of Quebec City’s Béatrice Lamarche (1:16.886) and Manitoban Alexa Scott (1:17.239).
On the men’s side, hometown hero Laurent Dubreuil – yesterday’s 500m gold medalist – also captured his second national title of the competition, brining home gold in the men’s 1000m, the same distance that he earned silver in at Beijing 2022. The native of Lévis, Que., posted a time of 1:07.941, besting Canmore’s Connor Howe (1:08.521) and Winnipeg’s Tyson Langelaar (1:08.800).
Friday’s racing concluded with the men’s 10,000m, which saw Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, Alta.) claim the title with a time of 12:51.778, adding to the 5000m crown he earned yesterday. He was joined on the podium by Graeme Fish (13:06.105) and Jordan Belchos (13:18.784).
Four different athletes earned first-place finishes on opening day of short track action
Renée Steenge (Brampton, Ont.) won the women’s 1500m-1 with a time of 2:32.005, ahead of Danaé Blais (Châteauguay, Que.) and Coutney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.), who clocked in at 2:32.182 and 2:32.278, respectively. Meanwhile, Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke, Que.) showed why she is the reigning world record holder in the women’s 500m, crossing the line in an impressive 43.533 to earn the win. She was joined on the podium by Fredericton’s Rikki Doak (43.615) and fellow Sherbrooke native Ann-Sophie Bachand (43.814).
On the men’s side, Pascal Dion and Steven Dubois both reached the top of the podium on Friday. Dion (Montreal, Que.) posted a time of 2:18.174 to capture the men’s 1500m-1, besting Dubois (2:18.262) and Alexandre Migner (2:18.381). Dubois (Lachenaie, Que.) and Dion swapped places on the podium of the men’s 500m-1, with the triple-Olympic medalist finishing the sprint in 41.218, ahead of Dion (41.934) and Antoine Gagnon-Lamarche (42.024).
The women’s leaderboard after the first of three short track racing days has Kim Boutin on top with 7,048 points, ahead of Steenge (6,639) and Blais (6,048). Dubois and Dion are tied for first on the men’s side with 9,000 points each, comfortably ahead of third ranked Alexandre Migner (4,675). A skater’s combined ranking points over the course of the weekend will be used to determine who will be crowned national champion on Sunday.
The 2022 Canadian Speed Skating Championships presented by Intact Insurance continues Saturday, where short track athletes will compete in the 1000m-1 and 1500m-2, while long track athletes will skate the men’s and women’s 1500m. The races will be live streamed in Speed Skating Canada’s YouTube channel, as well as on CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sports digital platforms.
Quotes
“It was a really good result, similar to yesterday in terms of the calibre of my performance. I wasn’t expecting to go that fast – it was maybe the best 1000m of my career!”
Laurent Dubreuil
“It’s always fun to have races like todays, but I feel like I need to dial it in because I know I have more to give.”
Ted-Jan Bloemen
“The legs are there, and the performances are there. I had some excellent races today and I’m very proud of the way that I performed. It has been a couple of months since we last competed, so it feels nice to get off to this kind of start. My goal now is to keep the same energy going for the next two days.”
Pascal Dion