Isabelle Weidemann is making an early impression at the Canadian long track speed skating championships in Calgary.
Weidemann skated to a national record in the 5,000 metres on Thursday with her time of six minutes 46.81 seconds, besting her previous mark of 6:47.34 set in 2019.
It’s a second straight day of success for the Ottawa native, who beat out a competitive 3,000-metre field to win on the opening day of trials on Wednesday.
Laura Hall, an 18-year-old from Salmon Arm, B.C., was Weidemann’s lone competitor, clocking in at 7:22.61.
But for Weidemann it’s the perfect start to a season in which she hopes to avenge her Olympic disappointment of 2018 where she placed fourth in the team pursuit while collecting sixth- and seventh-place finishes in individual events.
Meanwhile, Ted-Jan Bloemen joined Weidemann in collecting his second victory of trials.
Graeme Fish, a 24-year-old who stunned Bloemen in the 10,000 at the 2020 world championships, placed second at 12:49.33, while Jordan Belchos rounded out the field with his time of 13:02.75.
Bloemen and Fish headline a strong slate of Canadian men’s skaters, appearing poised to contend for multiple podiums each in Beijing.
Live coverage from Calgary continues on CBCSports.ca on Friday at 6 p.m. ET with the women’s and men’s 1,000.
WATCH | Day 1 of the long track national championships:
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/904/119/ivanie.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
Catch all the action from the 2021 Canadian long track speed skating championships in Calgary. 3:13:34
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