Speed Skating Canada – Béatrice Lamarche takes fourth spot

Salt Lake City, United States, March 10, 2018 – Tyson Langelaar of Winnipeg, MB, won a silver medal as he finished second in the men’s final overall standings at the 2018 ISU World Junior Long Track Championships which are underway until Sunday in Salt Lake City.

Third after the first day of competition on Friday, Langelaar skated to new personal bests in the 1000m (1:09.11) and the 5000m (6:34.73) to finish sixth and seventh in these distances, respectively. By the same token, he improved on his performance from last year, when he finished third overall.

“It was a really good weekend all around,” said Langelaar. “Handling each race one by one, clearing the mind after each one and just looking forward to the next race, really helped me to focus on what I needed to do in each individual event.”

“The 500m went really well. I felt pretty confident after that, which led into the 1500m, where I skated a really good technical race and I stuck to my game plan,” he explained. “The 1000m went pretty well, although in one of the corners I had a little slip, but I kept it together for the last lap and finished off strong. For the 5000m, I went out a little too fast in the first few laps, but I kept it together in the end.”

First overall after Friday’s events, David La Rue of Saint-Lambert, QC, who finished eighth overall last year, skated to fourth place in Saturday’s 1000m (1:08.61). Then, in the 5000m, La Rue saw his dream of becoming world champion end when he was disqualified for not changing lanes during the race.

Norway’s Allan Dahl Johansson was crowned 2018 World Junior Champion while Italy’s Francesco Betti took third place. Kaleb Muller from Cranford, AB, was eighth and Connor Howe from Canmore, AB, was 11th.

Béatrice Lamarche fourth

On the women’s side, Béatrice Lamarche of Quebec City was the top Canadian with a fourth-place finish in overall standings.

Lamarche remained in the same spot where she finished on Friday, as she ended up fourth in the 1000m (1:16.19) and eighth in the 3000m on Saturday. In the latter event, the 19-year-old skater also improved on her personal best, which now stands at 4:14.92.

“I’m really happy with fourth place,” said Béatrice Lamarche, who finished fifth overall at the two previous World Junior Championships. “My goal was to improve on past years, so that goal has been reached!”

“There was a lot of competition between the girls, especially among the top three,” she added. “It was a really high level. I’m really happy with my races and I did as well as I could. I was consistent from race to race with my fourth-place finishes in the 1000m and the 1500m. I couldn’t have asked for more.”

Brooklyn McDougall from Calgary, who was 13th in the 1000m (1:17.87) and 23rd in the 3000m (4:29.72) while also setting new personal bests in both distances, Saturday, finished 12th overall, while Alexa Scott from Clandeboye, MB, was 18th overall after ending up 28th and 21st, respectively, in the 1000m (1:20.97) and the 3000m (4:21.79), also while setting personal bests. As for Gabrielle Jelonek from Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, QC, she was disqualified from the competition in the 3000m.

Three Dutch skaters finished on the podium, as Joy Beune was crowned 2018 World Champion, while Jutta Leerdam and Elisa Dul were second and third, respectively.

In the team sprint, the Canadian women’s team comprised of McDougall, Lamarche and Scott finished fifth with a time of 1:31.21. The Netherlands (1:28.75) earned gold, followed by South Korea (1:29.05) and Poland (1:29.46).

On the men’s side, a fall led to the disqualification of the Canadian team comprised of Howe, La Rue and Langelaar. The gold medal went to South Korea (1:20.46), silver to Germany (1:20.76) and bronze to Russia (1:20.94).

The competition ends on Sunday with the team pursuit and mass start events.

More details are available at Speed Skating Canada’s web site at www.speedskating.ca.

TODAY’S CANADIAN RESULTS

1000m – W

4. Béatrice Lamarche (1:16.19)

13. Brooklyn McDougall (1:17.87) – PB

28. Alexa Scott (1:20.97) – PB

30. Gabrielle Jelonek (1:21.03)

1000m – M

4. David La Rue (1:08.61) – PB

6. Tyson Langelaar (1:09.11) – PB

15. Connor Howe (1:09.99) – PB

25. Kaleb Muller (1:11.33) – PB

3000m – W

8. Béatrice Lamarche (4:14.92) – PB

21. Alexa Scott (4 :21.79) – PB

23. Brooklyn McDougall (4:29.72) – PB

DQ. Gabrielle Jelonek

5000m – M

7. Tyson Langelaar (6:34.73) – PB

10. Kaleb Muller (6:37.03)

29. Connor Howe (7:01.18)

DQ. David La Rue

Final Ranking – W

4. Béatrice Lamarche

12. Brooklyn McDougall

18. Alexa Scott

DQ. Gabrielle Jelonek

Final Ranking – M

2. Tyson Langelaar

8. Kaleb Muller

11. Connor Howe

DQ. David La Rue

Team Sprint – W

Canada: 5

(Brooklyn McDougall, Béatrice Lamarche, Alexa Scott)

Team Sprint – M

Canada: DQ
(Connor Howe, David La Rue, Tyson Langelaar)

About Speed Skating Canada

Speed Skating Canada (SSC) is the governing body for long track and short track speed skating in Canada. Founded in 1887, SSC is comprised of 13 provincial and territorial associations. Speed Skating Canada is committed to Challenge and Inspire Canada to Thrive through the power of Speed Skating. 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.www.speedskating.ca

Speed Skating Canada would like to thank its sponsors: 

Premium partner: Intact Insurance

Funding partners: Government of Canada (Sport Canada), Own The Podium, Canadian Olympic Committee

Official On-Ice High Performance Apparel: Li-Ning

Long Track Team Sponsor: KIA

Official Suppliers: Auclair, USANA

Official Technical Equipment Supplier: Nagano Skate

Sport Development Partners: Winsport Canada, Calgary’s Olympic Oval, University of Calgary, Institut national du sport du Québec, Government of Quebec, Canadian Sport Institute-Calgary, City of Montreal, Quebec City, Excellence sportive Québec-Lévis

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For information:

Kerry Dankers
Long Track Program and Communications Coordinator
Speed Skating Canada
Email: kdankers@speedskating.ca
Phone: 403-589-8960
Website: www.speedskating.ca  
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SSC.PVC 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SSC_PVC 

Patrick Godbout

Communications & Media Relations Manager

Speed Skating Canada

Email: pgodbout@speedskating.ca

Phone: 514 213-9897

Website: www.speedskating.ca 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SSC.PVC

Twitter: www.twitter.com/SSC_PVC