New Canadian champions were crowned at the 2024 Canadian Long Track Championships, taking place in Quebec City.
The results from the competition at Centre de glaces Intact Assurance will also be used to determine athlete selections for the ISU World Cup circuit this fall and other major international competitions.
Ivanie Blondin captured three national championship titles in as many days. She began the competition by winning gold in the women’s 3000m with a time of 4:10.038. Last year’s national champion in the distance, Valérie Maltais, settled for the silver medal after posting a time of 4:11.326.
“It was a little bit slower than I wanted it to. I made one little mistake of wanting to take a draft and it slowed my speed down a bit. I was in a bit of a lazy mindset because I have so many races to do this week. But all in all, I am happy with the end results and accomplished what I set out to do. This was my first full 3000m race of the year and I’m looking to build off of that going forward,” Ivanie told Speed Skating Canada following her race.
Blondin returned the following day to capture her second national title of the season, claiming the women’s 1000m crown. Her time of 1:15.562 placed her comfortably ahead of Maddison Pearman who crossed the line in 1:17.182.
Both Blondin and Valérie Maltais opted to skip the 5000m event, having already secured their World Cup spots in the 3000m. This decision opened the door for Laura Hall to shine, as she earned the first national championship title of her career, finishing with a time of 7:19.645.
Blondin continued her success on the third day of racing, becoming the 1500m national champion. She finished the distance in 1:56.966, ahead of teammate Maltais (1:58.582).
With two runner-up finishes, Maltais finished atop the podium in the women’s mass start on the final day of competition. Her time of 9:34.163 secured her first crown of the weekend.
In the men’s events, Graeme Fish dominated his competition in the 5000m, winning the national title after crossing the line in 6:21.793. This marks his first national title in the distance since 2019. He followed up the next day by winning the men’s 10,000m, finishing in 12:58.414—nearly a minute faster than his closest competitor.
“I felt pretty solid today. It’s always nice to go out there and have a good showing. Basically, my goals today were to execute my race plan and implement what I’ve been working on in training, and I think I was able to do that. I’m hoping to build off that and keep getting better every day.” – Graeme Fish following his 10,000m race.
In the mens 1500m, Connor Howe was crowned champion with a time of 1:45.825, earning his second distance title of 2024. Earlier in the weekend, the 24-year-old Olympian won the men’s 1000m, posting a time of 1:08.933 to defeat Laurent Dubreuil, who finished in 1:09.298.
Hayden Mayeur secured the men’s mass start crown, posting a final time of 8:44.035.
It’s no surprise that Laurent Dubreuil and Carolina Hiller defended their respective 500m national titles on opening day. Topping the podium for the fifth consecutive season, hometown favourite Dubreuil secured the men’s 500m gold medal with a time of 34.721 seconds. It was a similar result on the women’s side, Hiller claimed her third straight 500m title with a time of 38.631.
Headliners Isabelle Weidemann and Ted-Jan Bloemen were absent from the competition, as they have already qualified for the Fall World Cups. The first stop of the Long Track Speed Skating World Cup Circuit will take place in Nagano, Japan, from November 22 to 24.
