Quebecer Laurent Dubreuil took second place in the 500 meters, Graeme Fish triumphed in the 5000 m and Canada collected four medals on Saturday at the Four Continents Long Track Speed Skating Championships.
Isabelle Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin won silver and bronze medals in the 3000m, while Quebecer Valérie Maltais placed fourth.
The representatives of the maple leaf have therefore accumulated seven medals since the start of this competition after those of bronze for Blondin in the 1500 m and in the men’s team sprint and that of gold in the women’s team sprint on Friday.
Dubreuil covered the 500m in 34.68 seconds, trailing only American Jordan Stolz (34.47), who had also won the 1500m the day before. The Japanese Tatsuya Shinhama (34.82) completed the podium.
“It was a good race and I’m happy with the time and the execution,” said Dubreuil, according to a Speed Skating Canada press release. We’ve been in Asia for less than a week and 34.6 is faster than I did in Quebec at the start of the season, on ice that is clearly slower, which is good. »
Fish, meanwhile, was dominant in the 5,000m, setting a new track record in 6:18.06. The Japanese Riku Tsuchiya (+ 5.34) and Seitaro Ichinohe (+ 6.05) accompanied him on the podium. The Canadian Ted-Jan Bloemen (+ 7.13) concluded the event just off the podium.
“I felt really good and the execution of the race plan went really well, so it was really enjoyable,” Fish said. This title gives me confidence for the coming weekends. This is proof that I did things the right way during the off-season. »
Weidemann (+1.12) and Blondin (+1.18) finished behind Japanese Momoka Horikawa (4:06.91).
It was a first race this season for Weidemann, who did not participate in the Canadian Championships since his results in 2023-24 gave him qualification for the new international campaign.
“It was my first race of the year, so I don’t think we should draw too many conclusions from it, but I hope it’s an indication of how things are going to go this season,” she said.
The Four Continents Championships will conclude on Sunday with the 1000m events, the mass start and the team pursuit.
