Valerie Maltais of Canada catches her breath after the 5,000m Women event of the Speedskating Single Distance World Championships at Thialf ice arena Heerenveen, Netherlands, Sunday, March 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Peter Dejong
CALGARY – Valérie Maltais and Connor Howe had the golden touch in their respective 1,500-metre races on the third day of the Canadian long-track speedskating championships on Saturday.
Maltais, of La Baie, Que., won the women’s title – besting a field of 23 skaters – with a time of 1:55.60. It was the 33-year-old Maltais’s third medal in Calgary, having already won gold in the 3,000 and silver in the 5,000.
Isabelle Weidemann of Ottawa, Ont., added silver (1:56.16) to a medal haul that that already included gold in the 5,000 and silver in the 3,000.
Beatrice Lamarche of Quebec City claimed bronze (1:59.08).
In the men’s event, Howe, of Canmore, Alta., skated to his second gold of the competition in a time of 1:43.16. Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu, of Sherbrooke, Que., secured silver (1:43.82), and David La Rue, of Saint-Lambert, Que., earned the bronze (1:44.66).
Howe’s victory followed his win in the 1,000 and a silver-medal finish in the 5,000.
The championships conclude on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2023.
