Speed Skating Canada is proud to announce the long track skaters nominated to represent Canada at the upcoming ISU World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships in Salt Lake City, Utah and the ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Hamar, Norway.
ISU World Single Distance Championships
Eighteen Canadians will lace-up their skates for the ISU World Single Distance Championships in Salt Lake City from February 13-16.
The team will be led by Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.), a winner of seven individual distance medals so far this World Cup season. She will be joined by fellow long-distance medalists Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.) and Graeme Fish (Moose Jaw, Sask.), along with sprint medalists Laurent Dubreuil (Lévis, Que.) and Alex Boisvert-Lacroix (Sherbrooke, Que.).
Tyson Langelaar (Winnipeg, Man.), Abigail McCluskey (Penticton, B.C.) and Béatrice Lamarche (Quebec City, Que.) will make their World Single Distance Championships debut, while teammate Alexandre St-Jean (Quebec City, Que.) will return to the competition following some time off after the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang.
The full list of athletes who will compete at the ISU World Single Distance Championships in Salt Lake City can be found below:
- Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.)
- Marsha Hudey (White City, Sask.)
- Kaylin Irvine (Calgary, Alta.)
- Béatrice Lamarche (Quebec City, Que.)
- Valérie Maltais (La Baie, Que.)
- Abigail McCluskey (Penticton, B.C.)
- Heather McLean (Winnipeg, Man.)
- Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.)
- Jordan Belchos (Toronto, Ont.)
- Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, Alta.)
- Alex Boisvert-Lacroix (Sherbrooke, Que.)
- Laurent Dubreuil (Lévis, Que.)
- Graeme Fish (Moose Jaw, Sask.)
- Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu (Sherbrooke, Que.)
- Connor Howe (Canmore, Alta.)
- Gilmore Junio (Calgary, Alta.)
- Tyson Langelaar (Winnipeg, Man.)
- Alexandre St-Jean (Quebec City, Que.)
ISU World Speed Skating Championships
Canada will have 11 skaters compete at the first-ever ISU World Speed Skating Championships, an event that combines the previously separate World Allround Championships and World Sprint Championships, is set to take place from February 28 to March 1 in Hamar.
Five Canadian skaters – McLean, Irvine, McCluskey, Dubreuil and David La Rue (Saint-Lambert, Que.) – are slated to participate at the sprint portion of the competition. Hudey, Irvine and Dubreuil are all currently ranked in the top-10 for the 500m, with Dubreuil also holding down the fourth overall spot in the men’s 1000m.
Meanwhile, the six other skaters – Blondin, Weidemann, Maltais, Bloemen, Belchos and Langelaar – will battle it out for the all-round titles. With World Cup medals in the 1500m, 3000m and 5000m so far this season, Blondin looks to have what it takes to become the first Canadian women to reach the overall podium at this event since Christine Nesbitt in 2006.
This year will see McCluskey and La Rue make their World Sprint Championships debut, while Langelaar will be doing the same at the World Allround Championships.
The full list of athletes who will compete at the ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Hamar can be found below:
- Kaylin Irvine (Calgary, Alta.)
- Abigail McCluskey (Penticton, B.C.)
- Heather McLean (Winnipeg, Man.)
- Laurent Dubreuil (Lévis, Que.)
- David La Rue (Saint-Lambert, Que.)
- Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.)
- Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.)
- Valérie Maltais (La Baie, Que.)
- Jordan Belchos (Toronto, Ont.)
- Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, Alta.)
- Tyson Langelaar (Winnipeg, Man.)
