David La Rue (behind Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu) skates to his first Canadian Champion title in the 1000m on Saturday. Credit: Dave Holland, Speed Skating Canada

Kaylin Irvine and David La Rue were crowned Canadian Champions in the 1000m during Saturday’s session of the national long track speed skating championships at the Calgary Olympic Oval.

Irvine, skating in front of a hometown Calgary crowd, captured her second gold medal of the weekend with a time of 1:14.42. She was joined on the podium by Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin, who takes home her third 2019 Championships medal, and Heather McLean of Winnipeg, MB.

“This win is a big relief for me because last season was not easy at all. So I find this very encouraging for the future. Looking ahead to this season and beyond, I have simply given myself an objective to catch up as much as possible to the world-leading athletes.”

– David La Rue

In the men’s event, David La Rue of Saint-Lambert, QC earned his first championship title in the 1000m, crossing the line in 1:07.71. Fellow Québécois athletes Laurent Dubreuil (Lévis) and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu (Sherbrooke) had the second and third fastest times of the day.

The Canadian Championships conclude tomorrow with the 1500m and mass start events. The results of the competition will be used to select the team representing Canada on the ISU World Cup circuit this season.

“I know that I have really good top-end speed and I wanted to hit the technical cues that I hit yesterday in my 500m. I’m feeling very powerful right now, but it was more about just keeping my legs moving. The stamina in that second lap is always a challenge and last year I had many races that humbled me after the 600m mark!”

Kaylin Irvine