‘Toba skaters speed to record times at Canada Winter Games

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This article was published 19/02/2019 (2137 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Records are made to be broken and a pair of Manitoba speedskaters are proving that to be true.

Clandeboye’s Alexa Scott broke two Canada Winter Games records this week in Red Deer, Alta. Scott, 17, first entered the record book on Tuesday in the long track 3,000-metre race with a time of 4:33.83. Finishing in second place was Quebec’s Rose-Anne Grenier, who was nearly 10 seconds behind Scott as she crossed the line at 4:42.23.

But Scott wasn’t done there, as she broke another record on Wednesday. This time, it was in the 1,000-metre race. Scott won in a time of 1:22.26. British Columbia’s Brooklyn McDougall claimed silver with a time of 1:23.37.

To cap off what was already a legendary performance, Scott won another gold medal in her final race — the mass start.

“It’s super exciting. The records mean more to me than the medals,” said Scott, who had no idea what the record times were going into any of her races. “I feel like it shows I’m going somewhere and I know what I’m doing.”

To make her accomplishments even more impressive, Scott arrived in Red Deer on Monday at 5 p.m. after a 24-hour travel day. Scott was coming from the ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships in Italy. There wasn’t much time for rest, as Scott had to be up at 5 a.m. the next day for the 3,000-metre race.

“I gained a lot of confidence,” said Scott, a Grade 12 student at Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School. “I was pretty jet-lagged coming in. To win a gold after a 24-hour travel day, it just shows I have what it takes, I think.”

Winnipeg’s Tyson Langelaar also earned his way into the record books Wednesday, as the 20-year-old broke the Canada Games record in the 1,000-metre long track race with a time of 1:12.79.

Langelaar has been on a tear this week, as he now has three gold medals and a silver. He has one more opportunity to add to his collection of medals, as he will compete in the male mass start race on Thursday — the same event he won four years ago in Prince George, B.C.

“It just shows we’re doing something right,” said Scott on Manitoba’s speedskating success. “The (Manitoba Speed Skating Association) is turning out speedskaters, so I think the rest of the country should watch us.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31