THE CANADIAN PRESS
CALGARY — Jeremy Wotherspoon of Red Deer, Alta., narrowly missed a world record en route to the gold medal in the men’s 500 metres on Friday at the Canadian single distances long track speed skating championships.
Wotherspoon clocked 34.44 seconds in the first race and 34.13 in the second for a combined time of 68.57 seconds. His second clocking was just one-tenth of a second off his world record time set a month ago in World Cup competition.
"It was good to come back and near the times I did at the first two World Cups," said Wotherspoon. "My main focus was to have good starts and a better first turn. I feel confident now for the second half of the season."
Mark Nielsen of Calgary was second at 69.65 while Vincent Labrie of St-Romuald, Que., placed third.
In the women’s 500, Rempel clocked 38.45 seconds in the first race and 38.41 in the second for a combined time of 76.86 seconds. Christine Nesbitt of London, Ont., was second at 77.940 and Kristina Groves of Ottawa third at 78.35.
"I got a big lead in that first race and that took the pressure off," said Rempel, the Canadian champ in the event for the third straight year. "I was able to focus a lot more on technique in the second race.
"It was good to get the victory in this event but still my main focus is the 1,000 and 1,500. Those are the races where I have the most potential."