Blondin, Howe claim 1,500m titles at Canadian Long Track Championships
Blondin sets new track record with time of 1:55.509 in Quebec City
The third day of the Canadian Long Track Championships in Quebec City saw Ivanie Blondin and Connor Howe win gold in their respective 1,500-metre races at the Centre de glace Intact Assurance.
Blondin, a three-time Olympian from Ottawa, set a new track record in the event on Saturday with a time of one minute 55.509 seconds. It was her fifth medal and second national title of the competition after winning the women's 1,000m on Friday.
"It has been a long three days, but every race kept getting better and better. Today, I was focusing more on my technique," Blondin said.
Fellow Olympian Isabelle Weidemann claimed silver (1:56.536), while Béatrice Lamarche captured bronze on home ice in 1:58.128.
The men's 1,500m, meanwhile, featured plenty of drama right up until the finish line.
Howe won the national title in 1:44.770, while Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu (1:45.094) took home silver after a late push saw him overtake Tyson Langelaar (1:45.649) for second place on the final lap.
WATCH | Canadian Long Track Championships: Women's 1,500m & Men's 1,500m:
Sarault wins pair of gold medals
Courtney Sarault picked up a pair of gold medals on Day 2 of the Canadian Short Track Championships earlier on Saturday in Quebec City.
The Moncton, N.B., native delivered a statement performance in the women's 1,000m-1 with a time of 1:30.823, beating fellow national team members Kim Boutin (1:30.907) and Claudia Gagnon (1:31.107).
Sarault also topped the podium in the women's 1,500m-2 event (2:36.484), beating Gagnon (2:36.517) and Renee Steenge (2:37.204).
Steven Dubois (1:27,248) won silver and Pascal Dion (1:27,272) won bronze.
Dubois, a two-time overall Canadian champion, followed it up with a gold medal in the men's 1500m-2 after passing Dion (2:20,548) and Laoun (2:20,676) on the final lap.
Dion sits atop the men's leaderboard with 18,000 points, while Sarault is the top women's short track skater with 14,275 points.
