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Canadian speed skaters Rose Laliberté-Roy, Rose-Anne Grenier, Antoine Roger and Jake Weidemann each won their first national title on the final day of competition in Quebec City on Sunday.
After a pair of second-place results in the women’s 500 metres to start nationals, Laliberté-Roy topped the podium in the women’s 1,000m with a time of 1:18.372.
The 27-year-old Olympian from Saint-Étienne, Que., was joined on the podium by Dartmouth, N.S.’s Julia Snelgrove (1:19.070) and Winnipeg’s Skylar Van Horne (1:19.190).
Rose Laliberté-Roy of Saint-Étienne-de-Lauzon, Que., claimed Sunday’s 1,000-metre Canadian long track speed skating championship with the time of 1:18.37.
Quebec City’s Roger won the men’s 1,000m in 1:09.981, defeating Gatineau, Que., native Cédrick Brunet (1:10.231) and Calgary’s Yankun Zhao (1:10.379).
“I had confidence coming into today’s race because I had good training and I knew I had the legs, but to execute at the right time is really satisfying,” Roger said. “I knew I had a good first lap so I was just trying to stay low, with proper technique, until I crossed the finish line.”
Antoine Rogers of Quebec City claimed Sunday’s 1,000-metre Canadian long track speed skating championship with the time of 1:09.98.
It’s the first national competition using the new mass start rules, where the last place skater is eliminated following each sprint lap, making for an exciting finish on both the men’s and women’s side on Sunday.
Sainte-Marie, Que.’s Grenier, who won bronze in Friday’s 3,000m, finished the women’s mass start with a time of 9:15.361, slightly ahead of training partner Laurie Cayer of Lévis, Que., and Saskatoon’s Selena Dallaire.
“I was super calm today, especially given the fact that it was the first time anyone was skating a mass start with this new format,” Grenier said. “I had a really good weekend up until that point, so I wanted to make the most of this last race and just have fun.
“The new format meshes well with the type of skater that I am. The fact that things were moving around the whole time is a good thing for me.”
Rose-Ann Grenier of Sainte-Marie, Que., won Sunday’s elimination mass start Canadian long track speed skating championship with the time of 9:15.32.
Ottawa’s Jake Weidemann took advantage of a chaotic men’s race to bring home gold with a time of 8:31.444, edging Calgary’s Max Halyk and Prince George, B.C.’s Eric Orlowsky.
Favourite Daniel Hall of Salmon Arm, B.C., got stuck behind a handful of skaters on the second sprint lap and was unable to make his way back on the inside, resulting in his elimination.
Two-time Olympian Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu of Sherbrooke, Que., carried the peloton for much of the race but finished fourth after running out of energy in the final laps.
“With the new format we knew it was going to be fast and that some of the newer guys would be surging to make sure they could stay in the race,” Weidemann said. “I just tried to approach it with a lot of intensity and tried to stay in the front of the pack as much as possible, while still hiding in the draft when I could.”
Jake Weidemann of Ottawa won Sunday’s elimination mass start Canadian long track speed skating championship with the time of 9:15.32.
Laura Hall won the women’s 5,000m, while Graeme Fish took the grueling men’s 10,000m.
Salmon Arm’s Hall won the race in 7:18.296, nearly 10-seconds ahead of her closest competitors Grenier and Cayer, who posted times of 7:29.178 and 7:31.956, respectively.
“That was a really flat race for me and I’m happy with how I was able to execute,” Hall said. “I tried something new, keeping my right arm on my back in corners as well as the straights. I haven’t done that in a race before, only tried it in practice. It feels good during those longer laps, so I’m happy I was able to try that, especially since it worked well.”
It marked Hall’s second victory of the weekend after upsetting Olympic bronze medallist Valérie Maltais to win the women’s 3,000m on Friday.
Laura Hall of Salmon Arm, B.C. skated to a 5,000-metre winning time of 7:18.29 good enough to claim the 2026 Canadian Long Track Championship title in Quebec City.
Fish, from Moose Jaw, Sask., was equally as dominant in the men’s longest distance race. The recently crowned 5,000m national champion finished in 13:23.106, comfortably ahead of Lévis’ Aimé Perreault (14:03.789) and Fort St. John, B.C., native Jack Hanson (14:05.396).
The nationals will be used to select Canada’s team for the upcoming long-track World Cup season.
Graeme Fish of Moose Jaw, Sask., skated to a 10,000-metre winning time of 13:23:10 capturing the 2026 Canadian Long Track Championship title in Quebec City.