Isabelle Weidemann skated a time of 6:47.34 in the ladies’ 5000m at the 2019 Canadian Long Track Championships on Friday. Not only did that pace earn Weidemann a gold medal, but a place in the Canadian record books as she bested Cindy Klassen’s mark of 6:48.97 set in 2006.
“I’m excited about my race today. The Canadian record is a benchmark that I wanted to beat last year, so I’m excited to have improved my time to get there. Cindy Klassen is someone that I really looked up to as a young skater, so to beat her record is very special and means a lot to me.”
The Ottawa native shared the podium once again with Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, ON) and Valérie Maltais (Saguenay, QC). In the men’s 10,000m, new dad Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, AB) skated the fastest time of the day at 12:54.92. In a re-ordering of yesterday’s top three, Graeme Fish (Moose Jaw, SK) and Jordan Belchos (Toronto, ON) captured the silver and bronze medals respectively.
“This is definitely something I’ve been chasing for a while. I’ve had to go against a lot of good skaters in the past so to come out on top this year is a big achievement for me. The season just starts now. Hopefully come November we’re going to be skating fast against the best in the world.”
Two new Canadian Champions were crowned in the 500m – Gilmore Junio and Kaylin Irvine, both of Calgary. Junio’s time of 34.44 placed him ahead of Laurent Dubreuil (Lévis, QC) and Alex Boisvert-Lacroix (Sherbrooke, QC). On the ladies’ side, Irvine (37.43) was followed by Marsha Hudey (White City, SK) and Heather McLean (Winnipeg, MB).
“Every day I get home and see my daughter’s pretty face and it gives me such a different perspective. It doesn’t matter if you’re having a good day or a bad day, from that point forward it’s a good day. So it was always going to be a good day today, but this win makes it even better.”
The Canadian Championships continue tomorrow at the Calgary Olympic Oval with the men’s and ladies’ 1000m events. The results of the competition will be used to select the team representing Canada on the ISU World Cup circuit this season.