Brendan Corey perfect at Canadian National Qualifier

Brendan Corey from New Brunswick and Genève Bélanger from Quebec won the 2019 Canadian National Qualifier last weekend in Montréal.

By Jackob Savard

Photo: Bill Christ

The national qualifier was used to select the 20 skaters who will compete against the national team at the Canadian senior selections from the 8th to the 10th of March at the Olympic oval in Calgary.

Corey unbeatable

Fredericton’s Brendan Corey was just too strong last weekend and won all three distances on the program. In a pretty tight competition where we saw a lot of crashes, disqualifications, yellow cards and injuries, Corey was able to race some strong, confident and clean races all weekend long to secure his title. Sherbrooke’s skater Jordan Pierre-Gilles had a great weekend qualifying for every A final of the competition and finished second overall. He won the bronze medals on 500m and 1500m. Rounding off the podium was 19-year-old Manuel Falardeau who offered the spectators some of the best races and moves of the weekend. He finished second on 1500m and won the B finals for both the 500m and 1000m to complete the overall podium.

Bélanger victorious in the ladies’ competition

The ladies’ competition was tighter and all three distances were won by a different skater. Experimented skater Genève Bélanger, who’s making a comeback this season, won the overall ranking. She won the 1000m, finished second on 500m and fourth on 1500m. Mya Joly, one of the youngest skaters of the competition, surprised a lot of people with her strong victory on 1500m. She also reached the B final in the two other distances to consolidate her spot on the second step of the podium. New Brunswick’s skater Rikki Doak had a difficult 1500m on day one but managed to climb to third place in the overall ranking with a brillant win on 500m and a 5th place on 1000m.

These skaters will take part in the Canadian senior selections from March 8th to March 10th in Calgary to fight for spots on the national team.

For the ladies' final ranking, click HERE

For the men's final ranking, click HERE

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