Thornhill speed skater impresses at World Cup

Thornhill speed skater impresses at World Cup

Sports

Mike Hayakawa

Jordan Belchos skated his way to an 11th place finish in the 5,000-metre B division race during his World Cup debut as a member of Canada’s national speed skating team last weekend in Berlin, Germany.

A 19-year-old Thornhill native and Markham Speed Skating Club member, Belchos was paired in his race against Pascal Briand of France.

Briand led slightly from the start and held the lead for a couple of laps. But by the 1,400m mark, Belchos pulled ahead, and steadily opened the gap despite the fatigue of the long race.

At the end, he finished a comfortable nine seconds in front in 6 min 44.68 seconds.

Belchos travels to Heerenveen, Holland, for his next 5,000m competition this weekend and then to Moscow Nov. 22-23, where he will be joined by fellow Markham Club member Andrew Godbout for the 10,000m competition.

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