Valérie Maltais (CAN) won the 3000m at the Utah Olympic Oval on Saturday, seizing back-to-back Four Continents titles in the distance after last year’s gold on home ice in Quebec.
Valérie Maltais claimed her second-straight Four Continents gold over 3000m in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
But this year's win was different, she said.
“I would say that the field is much stronger today.”
Maltais left teammate Isabelle Weidemann (CAN) and Mia Manganello Kilburg (USA) behind in a close race. Erin Jackson (USA) beat Kimi Goetz (USA) and Kim Min-Sun (KOR) to win the 500m title.
Determined Maltais pulls out the win
Weidemann was the first to take to the ice in the 3000m on Saturday. The 28-year-old Canadian was returning from an unusual mid-season break, after struggling through the fall World Cups in Asia in November. Happy to be back on the ice, Weidemann set a strong target for the rest of the field, stopping the clock at 4:02.67.
Isabelle Weidemann was in first place until the final pairing at the Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
Manganello, who took silver in Friday’s 1500m, was the first to come close to Weidemann’s pace. Going into the final lap of the penultimate pairing, the 2019/20 Four Continents champion was just 0.03 behind Weidemann, eventually finishing 0.18 adrift.
Maltais knew what she was up against in the final pairing.
“The field was stronger and at the same tie I wanted to get that title again.”
Her split times were almost level with Weidemann’s. Going into the final lap, she held a .08-second margin over her teammate. Determined to retain her title, Maltais pulled off a final lap that was almost a second faster, securing the title in 4:01.71.
“I watched (Weidemann), and what the other girls were doing, and as I was racing I knew I had to bank some fast laps at the beginning. But I'm really happy that I kept it pretty much together at the end.”
Despite finishing less than a second behind, Weidemann was glad to be back on the ice and competitive again.
“I really struggled through the fall. I just couldn't find the speed. It just felt like nothing was coming together and speed skating is such a weird sport sometimes, where it’s like power and art. The feeling is so important. When it sucks all the time, like it's really hard to find the fun. I couldn't really figure out what was going on, so I took two weeks off in mid-season, which I think is pretty uncommon. I spent some time with my family, reset, and kind of tried to restart the season a little bit. I've always loved speed skating, so it was really nice to just go home and kind of remind myself of that.”
Coming in second couldn’t ruin her day.
“I've been skating with Mia and Val for a long time now, and so it's really cool to kind of watch us all go up a little bit. Val has been my teammate for forever, and she's having a phenomenal season and that's really inspiring to see. She's 33, so there's quite a few years left for me and I think that's really fun. She's making a big statement in our team.”
Maltais laughed about the reference to her age.
“I don't feel that age. I still feel like you're really young and especially because I switched sports in 2018 (from short track to long track) I still feel like I have this little edge where I can get better.”
Manganello was happy to add bronze to Friday’s silver.
“Two for two, can’t complain. It's been a great weekend. I feel like I'm starting the World Cup season all over again. We had such a big gap from World Cup 4 to now. I was a little sick coming off of World Cup 4. That knocked me out for a few weeks, so I’m trying to rebuild from there and so this is the first week, and I really felt like my skating is underneath me again.”
Mia Manganello Kilburg won her second medal of the Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
USA dominates 500m
In the 500m, Jackson took on teammate Goetz in the sixth race and it turned out to be the key pairing of the shortest distance.
Opening .03 seconds faster than her teammate, the 2022 Olympic champion eventually beat Goetz by a mere 0.11 seconds, stopping the clock at 36.82.
Olympic champion Erin Jackson won 500m gold at the Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
Both women enjoyed the race, Jackson said.
“I think it's awesome. I always said, as soon as we can get a podium sweep, then we can really battle out amongst ourselves, so we’re always pushing each other.”
Goetz agreed.
“When we race together, it’s almost less of a distraction because when Erin’s up in the pair before me, I’m like, oh sh*t, I’m up next, so (when we’re in the same pair) it’s really beneficial for us.”
Kimi Goetz finished second behind teammate Erin Jackson at the Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
Defending Four Continents champion Kim Min-Sun took bronze in 37.21. She felt she blew her chances before the race began.
“I had to go to the line three times.”
Kim Min-Sun took 500m bronze at the Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
After Kim committed a false start, she and pairmate Yukino Yoshida (JPN) were called back from the line a second time before they were able to start in good order.
“I wanted to skate a personal best today, but I was disappointed about that. Anyway, the start was not good. But my full lap was not bad. I hope I can come back with a personal best next week.”
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