4 skaters capture 1st career national titles on final day of Canadian long track championships

Canadian speed skaters Rose Laliberté-Roy, Rose-Anne Grenier, Antoine Roger and Jake Weidemann each won their first national title on the final day of competition in Quebec City on Sunday.

After a pair of second-place results in the women's 500 metres to start nationals, Laliberté-Roy topped the podium in the women’s 1,000m with a time of 1:18.372.

The 27-year-old Olympian from Saint-Étienne, Que., was joined on the podium by Dartmouth, N.S.'s Julia Snelgrove (1:19.070) and Winnipeg’s Skylar Van Horne (1:19.190).

Rose Laliberté-Roy captures 1,000-metre Canadian long track speed skating title

Quebec City's Roger won the men's 1,000m in 1:09.981, defeating Gatineau, Que., native Cédrick Brunet (1:10.231) and Calgary's Yankun Zhao (1:10.379).

“I had confidence coming into today’s race because I had good training and I knew I had the legs, but to execute at the right time is really satisfying," Roger said. "I knew I had a good first lap so I was just trying to stay low, with proper technique, until I crossed the finish line.”

Antoine Roger claims 1,000-metre Canadian long track speed skating title on home ice

It's the first national competition using the new mass start rules, where the last place skater is eliminated following each sprint lap, making for an exciting finish on both the men’s and women’s side on Sunday.

Sainte-Marie, Que.'s Grenier, who won bronze in Friday’s 3,000m, finished the women’s mass start with a time of 9:15.361, slightly ahead of training partner Laurie Cayer of Lévis, Que., and Saskatoon's Selena Dallaire.

“I was super calm today, especially given the fact that it was the first time anyone was skating a mass start with this new format," Grenier said. "I had a really good weekend up until that