P.E.I. speed skaters headed for Canadian youth championships
Two of P.E.I.'s fastest young speed skaters will compete at the last event on Speed Skating Canada’s national competition calendar for the 2023-24 season.
Tiernan Dewar and Olivia Zhang will represent P.E.I. at the 2024 Canadian Youth Short Track Championships - East in Rimouski, Que., March 30-31. The Island athletes will compete in a field of 120 of the best 11- to 13-yearold short track speed skaters from Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces.
For live stream and results, visit https://speedskating.ca/mecevents/2024canadianyouth-short-track-championships-east/
Both skaters have enjoyed break-out seasons and will be making their respective debut appearances at the youth championships.
Dewar, who will compete in the 13-year-old male division, posted a top-five finish in the 500-metre event and placed eighth overall in the Canadian Youth Long Track Championships in Quebec City in February. The strong national showing came on the heels of an overall win in the youth age category at the Atlantic Cup Long Track Championships in Halifax in January.
Dewar also claimed seven new provincial long track records for his age group at the events, his first competitions in the long track discipline. In short track, Dewar won the 1,500-metre event in the top division at the Atlantic Canadian Short Track Championships in Dieppe in February, skating to an overall bronze medal. He also won two of three distances in the top division of a regional meet in Hampton, N.B., in February, where he broke the provincial record in the 800-metre distance for 13-year-old boys.
Zhang will compete in the 12-year-old female category in Rimouski, after several strong outings on the Maritime circuit this season. The Stratford skater was the top female athlete and second overall finisher at the Dartmouth Crossing Sprints competition in Nova Scotia earlier this month, where she set two new provincial records for her age group
In the 400-metre distance, Zhang toppled a 13-year-old record that was held by P.E.I. standout Carly Connell.