麻豆社区

Two Yukon speedskaters gave impressive performances against their rivals from Western Canada last weekend in Richmond, B.C.

Whitehorse鈥檚 Shea Hoffman and Haines Junction鈥檚 Michael Ritchie were at the Western Canadian Single Distance Short Track Championships.

In his first competition of the season, Hoffman set a personal best in his 500-metre race, knocking three quarters of a second off his previous best with a time of 48.049.

Then during the first 1,500-m race of the weekend, Hoffman managed to reach third place out of 15 skaters.

He also achieved an outstanding second-place finish in the thigh-burning 3,000-m points race out of a field of nine skaters.

The meet was held at the Olympic Oval in Richmond, B.C.

Hoffman, 19, said the meet provided good competition.

The meet provided an avenue for him to get some competition, as he has aged out for the upcoming Canada Games Centre.

鈥淭here鈥檚 not really many for me to do,鈥� he said.

Ritchie鈥檚 best placement came in the 1,500-m on the first day of competition, when he reached sixth place out of 15 skaters.

Ritchie also earned a personal best in his 1,500-m races.

In his first 1,500 race, the youngster knocked 6.98 seconds off his previous best, then proceeded to knock off a further 11.58 seconds in his second 1,500, for a combined decrease of more than 18 seconds when he finished in 2:38.52.

鈥淭hey skated pretty well,鈥� said coach Phil Hoffman. 鈥淚t鈥檚 early for everybody, but they鈥檙e turning in some good results.鈥�

Thanks to support from the Yukon government and Lotteries Yukon, the two skaters started their latest speedskating season on the right blade.

On Sunday, the Whitehorse Rapids Speed Skating Club will host a time trial event at the Canada Games Centre from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

鈥� With files by Mark Ritchie