Speed Skating Canada – BASELGA DI PINE, ITALY – Canada’s junior long track team is set to hit the ice this weekend for the 2019 ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships, which will take place from February 15-17 on the outdoor Ice Rink Piné in Baselga di Pine, Italy.

Canada’s junior squads have had some great success on the international stage in recent years, having won a combined 22 medals at the past three events. Tyson Langelaar and David La Rue also both reached the overall podiums, with silver in 2018 and bronze 2017, respectively.

This year’s men’s team is comprised of Connor Howe (Canmore, Alta.), Hubert Marcotte (Pont-Rouge, Que.), Jack Deibert (Calgary, Alta.) and Frank Roth (Calgary, Alta.), while the ladies will be represented by Alexa Scott (Clandeboye, Man.), Gabrielle Jelonek (Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, Que.), Ophélie Juneau (St-Raymond, Que.) and Gabrielle Sanson (Moose Jaw, Sask.).

Howe will make his third appearance at the World Junior Championships, having previously participated in Salt Lake City in 2018 and Helsinki in 2017. On the women’s side, both Scott and Jelonek will make their second consecutive appearance. The rest of the skaters will be experiencing this level of international competition for the very first time in their careers.

This group of Canadian skaters – with the exception of Howe – took part in the ISU Junior World Cup Final last weekend in the same Italian city of Baselga di Pine. Meanwhile, Howe was in Inzell, Germany to compete in the World Single Distance Championships, where he placed 22^nd in the 1500m against the top senior skaters in the world.

The competition gets underway Friday with the 500m and 1500m. The 1000m, ladies’ 3000m and men’s 5000m will take place on Saturday, while team sprint, team pursuit and mass start races are set for Sunday. 

A detailed event schedule and live results can be found on the ISU Results Portal. The races will be live streamed on the ISU Channel and ISU YouTube.

The full list of participating athletes and the distances they will be contesting this weekend is below.

Ladies Team

• JELONEK, Gabrielle (Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, QC) – 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m, Team Pursuit
• JUNEAU, Ophélie (St-Raymond, QC) – 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m, Team Pursuit
• SANSON, Gabrielle (Moose Jaw, SK) – 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m, Mass Start, Team Sprint, Team Pursuit
• SCOTT, Alexa (Clandeboye, MB) – 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m, Team Sprint

Men’s Team

• DEIBERT, Jack (Calgary, AB) – 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m, Team Pursuit
• HOWE, Connor (Canmore, AB) – 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m, Mass Start, Team Sprint, Team Pursuit
• MARCOTTE, Hubert (Pont-Rouge, QC) – 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m, Mass Start, Team Sprint, Team Pursuit
• ROTH, Frank (Calgary, AB) – 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m, Team Sprint

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MEDIA

Alain Brouillette
Speed Skating Canada
Email: communications@speedskating.ca 
Phone: 613-601-2630