Canada's Maltais, Dubreuil win gold at Four Continents speed skating championships

Canada added five more medals to its haul at the Four Continents speed skating championships on Saturday, including a pair of gold for the second straight day.

Laurent Dubreuil reached his second podium in as many days by successfully defending his title in the men's 500 metres, clocking a time of 34.19 seconds to narrowly beat Japan's Wataru Morishige (34.23) and Tatsuya Shinhama (34.28) at the Utah Olympic Oval.

The 31-year-old from Lévis, Que., helped Canada win gold in the men's team sprint on Friday, the opening day of competition in Kearns, Utah, near Salt Lake City.

Team sprint teammate Yankun Zhao finished 10th in the 500m with a personal-best time of 34.70.

WATCH l Dubreuil successfully defends 500m title:

Quebec's Laurent Dubreuil claims 500m title at Four Continents

10 months ago

Duration 1:28

Laurent Dubreuil of Levis, Que., wins the men's 500-metre event at the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in Salt Lake City with a time of 34.19.

"In terms of importance, it's not a World Cup victory, but in terms of calibre, all my rivals are there, or almost," Dubreuil said in a release. "There weren't many people missing who could have won medals. 34.1 is also a very respectable time."

Valérie Maltais of La Baie, Que., also retained her Four Continents title on Saturday, part of a 1-2 Canadian finish with fellow Olympic gold medallist Isabelle Weidemann in the women's 3,000m.

Maltais finished 0.96 seconds ahead of her compatriot in 4:01.71, while Mia Manganello of the United States took bronze (4:02.85).

Laura Hall of Salmon Arm, B.C., placed sixth in 4:10.16, followed by two other Canadians in the top ten.

Carolina Hiller of Prince George, B.C., was ninth (38.13), one spot ahead of Lévis' Rose Laliberté-Roy, who posted a personal best with 38.36. Ponoka, Alta., native Maddison Pearman finished 14th out of the 15 skaters (38.88).

WATCH l Maltais wins women's 3,000m:

Canada's Valérie Maltais victorious in 3,000m at Four Continents

10 months ago

Duration 5:09

Valérie Maltais of Saguenay, Que., wins the women's 3,000-metre event at the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in Salt Lake City with a time of 4:01.71. Fellow Canadian Laura Hall races with Maltais and finishes in sixth place.

Moose Jaw Sask., native Graeme Fish and Calgary's Ted-Jan Bloemen finished second and third, respectively, in a tight men's 5,000m.

Fish clocked 6:14.16, finishing just 0.02 seconds behind American Casey Dawson and 0.06 seconds ahead of Bloemen.

NextGen skater Daniel Hall of Calgary placed sixth with a personal-best time of 6:29.40.

"Today's race was one of my best races since getting COVID in 2021," Fish said. "Nice to see that my fitness and technique are moving in the right direction as we get closer to the world championships.

"Still have lots of room for improvement and excited to see what the future brings."

WATCH l Fish claims silver in men's 5,000m:

Moose Jaw's Graeme Fish claims Four Continents silver in 5,000m

10 months ago

Duration 7:25

Graeme Fish of Moose Jaw, Sask., finishes second in the men's 5,000-metre event at the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in Salt Lake City.

Watch live coverage of the Four Continents speed skating championships on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem, continuing Sunday at 4 p.m. ET with the women's team pursuit. Weidemann will join Maltais and Ivanie Blondin to reunite the gold-medal trio in the event.

Weidemann skipped the World Cup's two European stops last month to prepare for the closing North American leg of the season. It includes World Cup meets at the Utah Oval and in Quebec City the next two weeks before the world championships in Calgary in mid-February.

WATCH l Weidemann finishes 2nd in women's 3,000m:

Ottawa's Isabelle Weidemann earns Four Continents silver in 3000m

10 months ago

Duration 4:51

Isabelle Weidemann of Ottawa finishes in second place in the women's 3,000-metre event at the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in Salt Lake City.