Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu (CAN) found redemption at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Quebec City on Saturday. Just three months after suffering from concussion after being hit by a car while cycling, the 30-year-old Canadian won the men’s 1500m in a track record time of 1:44.66.
Although Gélinas-Beaulieu had the fastest personal best of the field in the 1500m, the 30-year-old from Montreal did not have a specific target before he started the 1500m.
“I did not have any expectation in terms of results or a track record, but I really wanted to start fast,” he said.
Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu (CAN) made a fast start and held his pace to win 1500m gold three months after a cycling accident. @ ISU
And starting fast is exactly what helped the 30-year-old from Montreal to his career first international title. Only Gélinas-Beaulieu and his compatriot Jake Weidemann (CAN) were able to set a 300m split below 24 seconds and Gélinas-Beaulieu was able to maintain his pace better than his compatriot.
Skating against defending champion Dmitry Morozov (KAZ), Weidemann finished in 1:47.40 to take bronze, while his Kazak opponent set 1:46.30 for silver.
With a fast start Gélinas-Beaulieu returned to a strategy he had temporarily set aside. He explained:
“I had a concussion in September. I got hit by a car when I was biking. Therefore I was a little bit more safe the beginning of the season, just take it a little bit slowly every race, because you never know how a concussion can affect your mind and your body.
“But today I told myself to go all out the beginning. It hurts, but that's where the potential is, to race it that way.
Redemption and a record
Winning for Gélinas-Beaulieu meant more than just a medal.
“It’s kind of a redemption. The car was a hit and run. I never knew who hit me, so he can see me on TV right now and tell himself ah f**k he's coming at me right now,” he said, laughing.
The track record gave the Canadian a confidence boost: “It’s a very good sign for me for the future. I know that if I do it this way, I can be competitive internationally.
“The track record was owned by Connor Howe (CAN), who just won his first World Cup. So it tells me that I can be very competitive in 1500m.”
Racing in Quebec City makes the Four Continents Championships even more special to Gélinas-Beaulieu.
“It's amazing. I used to race outside here when I was 13 years old, so that's 17 years ago, and I’m still here.
“I'm from Montreal, but I always loved the long track. I used to train short-track in Montreal, and over the weekend, I would come here to skate and race. My parents also are here today. They were here to cheer for me when I was 13 and they're still here, with all my family and friends. So it's a really good feeling.”
Special feeling for Weidemann
Weideman also enjoyed racing in Quebec City’s new Centre de Glaces. He said:
“It's a beautiful building. I loved skating here when it was outdoors, and love skating here indoor.
“They did an amazing job with the building. It's a lot of fun to get traveling in Canada again, and come to skate here. It gives us a reason to get out of Calgary, which sometimes becomes a little stale when you're in the same place every day.”
Bronze medalist Jake Weidemann (CAN) is excited by how competitive the Four Continents Championships are becoming. @ ISU
For Weidemann, racing in the Four Continents Championships is special.
“It means a huge amount. I love this competition. It was one of my first international medals [Weideman won 1500m bronze in Milwaukee in 2020], and to come back here and compete again, and see that the competition has just gotten that much more competitive, and see that the countries are coming here a lot more and really taking after the event, is huge.”
Koreans unmatched in final sprint
Korea’s Jae-Won Chung and Seung-Hoon Lee crushed the field with a blistering sprint in the Mass Start, with Chung taking gold and Lee settling for silver.
Wang Hongli (CHN) was the first to attack in the race, soon being joined by Bakdaulet Sagatov (KAZ). The Chinese and Kazak skater worked together well and build a 100m lead over the pack, which did not seem to be able to set up an organized chase.
Jae-Won Chung (KOR) leads the pack in the Mass Start. He took gold with teammate Seung-Hoon Lee in silver. @ ISU
With the two escapees still far out, Jordan Belchos (CAN) pushed the throttle to reel them in. He passed Sagatov with one lap to go, but when the Canadian caught up with Wang at 200m from the finish line, the Korean pair of Lee and Chung passed him on the inside and Belchos had to settle for fourth.
“You know they’re fast,” Belchos said. “There's only a couple guys in the world that really can compete with them like that, especially in a race eight minutes long.”
Belchos didn’t look back in anger. “I kind of expected it to be a slow race like that, and I kind of looked at the list and I thought I hope other people will try to make it a little bit of a faster race. I'm glad those guys went on the breakaway. I was just sitting there waiting and waiting, waiting for a moment.
“I thought, let it keep going, and then and I thought: this is probably the time to go. I think it was the right time, otherwise they would have been gone. There's part of me that is like, maybe I should try it in the sprint, but I made the move that I had planned to make, and it just didn't work out.”
Jordan Belchos (CAN), centre, made a late charge but the fast-finishing Koreans Chung and Lee could not be denied their 1-2. @ ISU
Wang eventually finished sixth, but his teammate Shen Hanyang (CHN) managed to seize bronze.
“I thought I’d give it my all for the final sprint,” Shen said. “This medal gives me a great boost in confidence.
“I really want to improve my skills and try to be better every time.”
Schedule
Friday December 2nd, 2022: 500m (Men and Women), 3000m (Women), 5000m (Men), Team Sprint (Men and Women)
Saturday December 3rd, 2022: 1500m (Men and Women), Mass Start (Men and Women)
Sunday December 4th, 2022: 1000m (Men and Women), Team Pursuit (Men and Women)
Where to Watch
Viewers will be able to watch the races via their national broadcasters’ channel. For countries where there are no broadcasters, the ISU will offer a live stream on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. You will find the full list on the Where to Watch webpage.
Subscribe to the ISU Newsletter to receive the latest information about events, and to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive notifications when live streams start or new videos are published.
For further information on ISU Speed Skating visit https://www.isu.org/speed-skating
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