Long track: A look back at the Fall Classic 2018

The Olympic Oval played host to the first major Oval competition of the season this past weekend which saw over 250 skaters from various countries converging on the fastest ice in the world.

By Maria Dalton

Photos by Oscar van den Bosch

Korean Domination in the 500m and 1000m

With the 500m being contested three times over the weekend on both the men’s and ladies sides, there was plenty of opportunities for skaters to shine and start the season off on the right foot by posting fast times in the distance. On both Friday and Saturday, the Koreans dominated the distance on the men’s side, crowding the top-3 on both occasions. However, Gilmore Junio’s strong Sunday performance left him at the top of the pack after posting a time of 35.42 – finishing ahead of Korean’s Tae-Yun Kim, Jun-Ho Kim and Young-Jin Kim.

On the ladies side, Pei Chong of China won the 500m on both Friday and Saturday with her times of 38.66 and 38.74, respectively. Similarly, to the men’s side, the Koreans crowded the podium on all three days while Canadian Marsha Hudey was able to finish in second on Saturday with her time of 39.03.  Calgary native Kaylin Irvine was the other Canadian of note on the ladies side, finishing in 4th position on Saturday in the 500m with her time of 39.36 seconds.

The 1000m was raced twice over the weekend on both the men’s and ladies sides. The Koreans once again swept the podium on Friday in the 1000m, with Jae Woong Chung clinching the first spot with his time of 1:09.80. Ning Zhongyan of China lead the pack on Saturday with his time of 1:09.84, ahead of Young-Ho Kim and Jin-Su Kim of Korean. Canadians of note on the men’s side were Olivier Jean and Tyson Langelaar who finished in 4th and 5th place on Friday with times of 1:10.78 and 1:11.40, respectively. Sam Deckert was the highest Canadian finisher on Saturday in the 1000m, finishing in 7th place with a time of 1:10.93.

The Chinese women were dominant on Friday in the 1000m, with Pei Chong leading the pack with her time of 1:17.20, ahead of her compatriots Hao Jiachen and Li Dan (94). Pei Chong once again found herself atop the podium on Saturday with a time of 1:17.49, just 0.20 seconds ahead of Canadian Kaylin Irvine.

Blondin, Zhongyan on top in the 1500m

The final day of competition at the Olympic Oval saw both the men’s and ladies 1500m contested. On the men’s side Ning Zhongyan of China finished first with a time of 1:46.09, just ahead of Olympic bronze medallist in the distance Kim Min-Seok. Ted-Jan Bloemen rounded out the top-3 with a time of 1:47.00. Fellow Canadians Jordan Belchos and Hayden Mayeur finished just outside the top-5 in 7th and 8th position with times of 1:47.81 and 1:47.83 respectively.

Ivanie Blondin finished atop the podium in the 1500m on the ladies side with her time of 1:55.72.  Han Mei and Chen Xiangyu of China rounded off the podium with times of 1:56.90 and 1:58.75 respectively. Other Canadians of note in the top-10 were Kali Christ in 4th (1:59.17), Keri Morrison in 6th (1:59.45), Isabelle Weidemann in 7th (1:59.46), Abigail McCluskey in 9th (2:00.46), and Kaylin Irvine in 10th (2:00.56).

Canadians on top in the 3000m and 5000m

Friday afternoon saw an all Canadian top-5 in the 5000m, with Ted-Jan Bloemen leading the pack with a time of 6:21.10. The race for second place was incredibly close, with Jordan Belchos and Graeme Fish finishing within 0.3 seconds of each other – Belchos captured second place with a time of 6:23.42 leaving Fish in third with a time of 6:23.71.  Rounding out the top-5 were Hayden Mayeur in 4th with a time of 6:30.89 and Kaleb Muller in 5th with a time of 6:34.62.

Isabelle Weidemann lead the pack in the 3000m, posting a time of 4:04.87 just ahead of fellow Canadian Ivanie Blondin, who finished in second place with her time of 4:05.75. Han Mei of China rounded off the podium with her time of 4:08.15. Other Canadians of note in the 3000m were Keri Morrison and recently converted short tracker Valerie Maltais who finished in 8th and 9th place respectively.

Belchos captures Mass Start crown, Maltais finishes 4th

Canadian Olympian Jordan Belchos ended the second day of competition with a decisive win in the Senior Men’s Mass Start event. Yu Jiawei won the Junior Men’s Mass Start event. This year’s Fall Classic event came to end with the Women’s Mass Start event. Yin Qi, Tao Jiaying and Li Dan lead a Chinese podium sweep, with Canadian Valerie Maltais finishing in fourth position. Maltais recently made the switch from short to long track and if her performances last weekend are any sign of what’s to come, we are eager to see how she progresses over the course of this season.

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