Dubreuil, Maltais, Bloemen, Hiller win national titles at Canadian long track championships

Carolina Hiller, Laurent Dubreuil, Valerie Maltais and Ted-Jan Bloemen all earned national titles on Thursday, the opening day of the Canadian long track speed skating championships in Calgary.

Hiller, from Prince George, B.C., raced to her second straight national title in the women's 500 metres.

The 26-year-old came out ahead of 24 competitors with a winning time of 38.49 seconds.

Jenna Larter of Brookfield, P.E.I., earned silver with a new personal best time of 38.87, and Calgary's Brooklyn McDougall finished third with a time of 38.91.

Dubreuil, from Levis, Que., cruised to yet another men's 500-metre crown.

Maltais, from La Baie, Que., won the women's women's 3,000 metres with a time of 4:02.84. She was joined on the podium by Ottawa's Isabelle Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa), who skated season-best times of 4:04.76 and 4:06.09, respectively.

It marked only the second national title of Maltais's long-track career, having also captured 1,000 metre gold in 2021.

Bloemen, from Calgary, crushed his competition in the men's 5,000 metres.

The 37-year-old's gold medal-winning time of 6:18.95 was nearly seven seconds quicker than second-place finisher Connor Howe of Canmore, Alta. (6:25.93).

National titles will be up for grabs in the men's and women's 1,000 metres, women's 5,000 metres and men's 10,000 metres.

Watch live coverage of the Canadian long track championships on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem, with action continuing Friday at noon ET.