Lethbridge speed skaters compete with best in the west
On Saturday, March 23rd and Sunday, March 24th, youth-aged speed skaters from Lethbridge competed in the Western Canadian Youth Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Medicine Hat. The event featured the top eleven to thirteen year-old skaters from the western provinces, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. Skaters competed in a number of races throughout the weekend, including a 400-meter heat, semi-final, and final, a 800-meter heat, semi-final, and final, a 1500-meter heat and final, a 1000-meter super-final, and two relay races.
In the Youth Female 13 category, Zosia Adelman earned a gold medal in the 1500-meter event and a bronze medal in the 400-meter event. She also finished fifth in the 800-meter event and fourth in the 1000-meter event to finish second overall in her age category. Zosia’s relay team also finished third in the team relay event.
In the Youth Male 13 category, Ryker Olsen had a breakout event, earning significant personal bests in the 400,
800 and 1000-meter distances. In the 400-meter race he set a personal best of over four seconds, achieving a time of 42.9 seconds. Ryker’s relay team finished third in the B-Final. This was Ryker’s first national-level event in speed skating, and he showed great promise for the future.
In the Youth Female 12 category, Claire Peake earned a bronze medal in the 800-meter event. She also finished fifth in the 1500 and sixth in the 400, earning a fourth-place finish overall. Claire established a personal best in the 800 with a time of 1:26.8 and a personal best in the 1000 of 1:52.9. Claire’s relay team finished first in the B-Final.
The speed skaters will now turn their focus to dryland training for the next three months. The impressive showing at the national event bodes well for what these athletes will be able to achieve during the speed skating season next year.