Quebec's Dubreuil secures national title in men's 500m long track speed skating
Ottawa's Weidemann earns gold in women's 3000m
Laurent Dubreuil blazed his way to being national champion in the men's 500-metre long track speed skating race on Thursday.
"Today's race was exceptional," Dubreuil said. "I had a hard time believing my time when I crossed the finish line. It was quite possibly the best race of my career, but I think I have what it takes to do even better. I have the legs to put forth some great performances this season and I'm excited to see what is next."
Dubreuil, 30, won silver in the 1000-metre at the Beijing Olympics in February, days after missing the podium in the 500 by 0.03 seconds.
He became Canada's first world champion in the 500 since 2008 when he won gold in 2021.
Un départ canon pour <a href="https://twitter.com/Dubreuil92?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dubreuil92</a>. Champion canadien sur 500m à Québec! 🥳<br>-<br>What a start for <a href="https://twitter.com/Dubreuil92?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dubreuil92</a>. 500m Canadian champion in Quebec City! 🥳<a href="https://twitter.com/RC_Sports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RC_Sports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCOlympics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBCOlympics</a> <a href="https://t.co/Pm1uWE66aS">pic.twitter.com/Pm1uWE66aS</a>
—@SSC_PVCWeidemann finishes on top
In the women's 3000-metre, Isabelle Weidemann claimed gold with a time of 4:00.206, finishing ahead of teammates Ivanie Blondin (4:06.133) of Ottawa and Valerie Maltais (4:07.369) of Saguenay, Que. The trio won gold together at the Beijing Games in the team pursuit.
"I'm really happy with my race today. I wanted to be aggressive and stuck to that plan," the Ottawa native said. "I was quite nervous going into the race, but happy that things turned out well."
Prince George, B.C., native Carolina Hiller earned her first national title with a victory in the women's 500. Hiller crossed the line with a time of 38.420.
Calgary's Brooklyn McDougall took silver (38.599), while Blondin grabbed bronze (38.953).
