Fort St. John speed skaters earn more medals at Long Track Canada Cup in Quebec

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Long-Track Canada speed skating event has wrapped up in Quebec City, with local speed skaters tearing up the track to medal victories.

Both Kieran and Jack Hanson, along with Matthew Mitchell, celebrated victories at the event on Tuesday, January 6th.

Along with Joshua Telizyn, all have been members of the Fort St. John Speed Skating Club and represented Team B.C. in the competition.

Mitchell, who had earlier earned a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres, took home the gold medal in the mass start race, which is a 15-lap race.

Meanwhile Jack, who had raced in the 10,000 metres during the first Canada Cup competition of 2026, skated to a third-place finish in the same race.

Now living in Calgary, Mitchell told Energeticcity.ca his preparation for the event was meticulous, with extra time with his coach, former Olympian Mike Ireland.

“I got here early to get myself settled and relax,” said Mitchell. “I’d say the 5,000 is my strongest event. I knew I could have a pretty good race. And I just trusted my training leading up to it.

“The day of [the 5,000 metres] I made a race plan and followed it to a tee. My warm ups went very well. Everything was good. And then I was able to put it all together through the race.”

Mitchell said he was “very happy” with the 5,000-metre result, although he described as competitors raced after him, he was “biting his nails” until the conclusion.

Kieran, who was in fourth place following day one of the 1,000 metres, earned the gold medal in the final, finishing with a time of 1:09.88.

Telizyn, who has raced in the world cup, came in sixth place in the 1,000-metre final with a time of 1:12.19.

Mitchell raced at the Junior World Championships last year in Italy, and says the medal haul from Fort St. John-based athletes shows the programs provided by Fort St. John Speed Skating Club can help athletes compete at the next level.

“[Training in Fort St. John] definitely kept me driving forward and always striving to get better,” said Mitchell. “Coach Richard Stickel definitely taught us all a lot.

“He taught us how to train hard, how to win and how to lose. Very grateful to have the opportunity to have been coached by him.”

The first Canada Cup competition of 2026 took place from January 3rd until January 6th in Quebec City.