Speed Skating Canada – Innsbruck, Austria, January 28, 2017 – Marco Schumann of Saskatoon, SK, was the top Canadian, Saturday, at the ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2017 to be held until Sunday in Innsbruck, Austria, as he came up with a sixth place finish in both the 500m and 1500m events.

 

Schumann, who is skating in his first-ever World Junior Championships, was the only Canadian representative to reach the A final stage of an event, as he finished sixth in the 1500m A final.

 

In the 500m event that followed, Schumann was second in the B final, good for sixth place overall in that distance.

 

Hungary’s Shaoang Liu won both distances, beating the world junior record in the 500m. That mark now stands at 40.483 seconds.

 

“I’m very happy with how it went today,” said Marco Schummann. “I didn’t put too much stress on myself. In the 1500m final, I was still pretty tired from the race before. The first half went well as I was keeping my energy and making good moves, and then I got tired. In the 500m, my skates didn’t feel too good in the semifinals. I was nonetheless satisfied with my second place in the B final. For tomorrow, who knows, I’ll just try to have fun and we’ll see what happens!”

 

Alyson Charles of Montreal (Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension borough), QC, was the top Canadian skater on the women’s side, as she qualified for the B final of both distances scheduled on Saturday.

 

In the 500m, Charles, who is taking part in her third World Junior Championships, was second in the B final to rank sixth overall. And Charles was fourth in the 1500m, which translated to 10th overall.

 

“I’m pretty satisfied with how my day went overall. I had relatively high expectations. I was a bit more disappointed with my 500m because I wanted to do better than last year,” explained Alyson Charles, who finished fifth in the 500m at last year’s World Junior Championships. “I think I skated well for two thirds of the race but at the end, I didn’t have any legs left and I made some small tactical mistakes that cost me. As for the 1500m, I had a tough time in the semifinal, For Sunday, in my 1000m races, I want to try and repeat what I did in today’s 1500m, where I was quite active and alert, and took it one race at a time. I will approach it in a smart way.”

 

In the women’s relay, Charles, Danaé Blais of Châteauguay, QC, Courtney Sarault of Moncton, N.B., and Renee Steenge from Brampton, ON, finished second in their semifinal heat to earn a spot in Sunday’s main final. They will race against China, Japan and Russia. The Canadian men’s relay was eliminated in the qualification round.

 

On Sunday, the last day of the competition, the 1000m event, as well as the 1500m Super Final, in which will take part the top six skaters in overall standings for each gender following the first three individual events held at these World Junior Championships, are scheduled, as well as the relay finals.

 

Following Satruday’s races, Alyson Charles held ninth place overall, while Renee Steenge was 22nd and Courtney Sarault, 39th. On the men’s side, Marco Schumann was seventh, Marc-Olivier Lemay was 17th and Gibson Himbeault, of Whitby, ON, was 19th.

 

TODAY’S CANADIAN RESULTS

 

500m W

Alyson Charles: 2^nd in the B Final (final ranking: 6)

Renee Steenge: 3^rd in the quarterfinals and eliminated (final ranking: 12)

Courtney Sarault: 1^st in her ranking race (final ranking: 61)

 

500m M

Marco Schumann: 2^nd in the B Final (final ranking: 6)

Marc-Olivier Lemay: 3^rd in the quarterfinals and eliminated (final ranking: 9)

Gibson Himbeault: 5^th in the quarterfinals and eliminated (final ranking: 20)

 

1500m W

Alyson Charles: 4^th in the B Final (final ranking: 10)

Courtney Sarault: 1^st in her ranking race (final ranking: 51)

Renee Steenge: 2^nd in her ranking race (final ranking: 25)

 

1500m M

Marco Schumann: 6^th in the A Final (final ranking: 6)

Gibson Himbeault: penalty in the semifinals and eliminated (final ranking: 20)

Marc-Olivier Lemay: 1^st in his ranking race (final ranking: 28)

 

Relay W
Canada: 2^nd in the semifinals and will take part in the A Final Sunday
(Danaé Blais, Alyson Charles, Courtney Sarault, Renee Steenge)

 

More details are available on Speed Skating Canada’s website at  www.speedskating.ca.

 

About Speed Skating Canada

Speed Skating Canada (SSC) is the governing body for competitive long track and short track speed skating in Canada. Founded in 1887, the association is comprised of 13 provincial and territorial branches representing more than 14,000 individual members, and counting. SSC believes that sport is an apprenticeship for life and prizes respect for others, integrity, excellence of effort, as well as a safe, healthy environment. SSC recognizes and values its outstanding volunteers who give freely of their time and expertise. It also celebrates the 63 Olympic medals won by Canadian athletes since 1932, as well as the coaches, officials and other dedicated individuals who helped them on their journey.

 

SSC is proud to be affiliated with partners that share the same vision and values including our premium sponsors Intact Insurance, as well as our funding partners, the Government of Canada, Own the Podium, and WinSport Canada.

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For information:

Patrick Godbout

Communications & Media Relations Manager

Speed Skating Canada

Email: pgodbout@speedskating.ca

Phone: 514 213-9897

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