Moose Javian savours 10,000m world record
Speedskater Fish wins first gold medal at international elite event in grand style
If it wasn’t for a lack of sleep, Graeme Fish might have thought he was dreaming.
The 22-year-old speedskater “couldn’t believe it” after his record-breaking performance on Feb. 14 at the International Skating Union’s world single-distances long-track championships in Salt Lake City.
Not only did Fish win gold for the first time in an elite international competition, he also established a new world standard in the men’s 10,000 metres (12 minutes 33.868 seconds).
The previous mark of 12:36.30 belonged to Canadian teammate and two-time Olympic medallist Ted-jan Bloemen, who placed second last weekend. Fish also won bronze in the 5,000m.
“I couldn’t even sleep that night,” said the Moose Jaw native, who trains at the Olympic Oval in Calgary. “I kind of knew going in that I had a shot at winning, but I didn’t really know if I could skate the world record.”
Fish realized he had a shot with about 10 laps to go.
“My coach started yelling: ‘World record! World record!’ ” he said. “It wasn’t a surprise to me when I crossed the line because I knew I was like a second and a half ahead of it going into the last lap.”
Despite his excitement, Fish was careful to put the accomplishment in perspective. He said a number of skaters were capable of setting the record in Salt Lake, which he called “the fastest ice in the world.”
“For me the world championship is more important because no one can take that away from me,” he noted. “A world record is going to get broken. But it’s nice to have it now, for sure.”
Fish had been building toward his breakthrough performance in
Salt Lake. After a number of strong results earlier in the season, he was named Sask Sport Inc.’s athlete of the month for December after winning his first medal — a 10,000m bronze — at a Group A World Cup competition in Kazakhstan.
Fish added bronze in the 5,000m at an ISU World Cup race on Feb. 8 in Calgary, which gave him momentum heading into the world championships.
“This is kind of the meet that we build up to,” he said. “It was perfect. We peaked at the right time. It’s what everyone is kind of striving for.”
The outcome appears to be a game-changer for Fish, but he insists it’s still business as usual. The long-term objective remains the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing but his current focus is to finish strong in the World Cup Final, March 7-8 in the Netherlands.
“It doesn’t really change much; it’s just nice to be world champion,” he said. “I’m still trying to make the Olympics and win (a medal). That’s the main goal. Every skater wants to do that. (Recent results) give me confidence and kind of show me that I can do it. But I’m not really thinking about the Olympics yet. It’s still two years away.”
Fish said he was “technically” just one spot away from qualifying for the last Olympics in Korea, but in reality he was “miles behind” his teammates who went to the Games. Bloemen won gold and Jordan Belchos finished fifth.
“I raced Ted (that year) and he lapped me,” Fish recalled. “Jordan beat me by like six seconds. They deserved to go.”
Like many youngsters, Fish was inspired by watching the Olympics as a kid. When he ascended to the national team, Bloemen became a role model.
“Watching Ted win that gold medal in 2018 in the 10k was pretty motivational,” Fish added. “Now I’m training with him. He has taught me things that made me better. We have a really good relationship. We push each other. That’s what makes us better as athletes.”
Bloemen, 33, has been an elite racer for several years while the stars are just beginning to align for Fish, who has come a long way in a short time.
He’s now among the country’s next wave of world-class speedskaters.
“It’s kind of hard to believe, actually,” said Fish, a former champion at the junior level. “I was more confident going into this year. I knew it was going to be a pretty decent year after the Canadian championships, but I never thought I would be world champion this soon, that’s for sure.”
My coach started yelling: ‘World record! World record!’ It wasn’t a surprise to me when I crossed the line because I knew I was like a second and a half ahead of it going into the last lap