Canadians Jess Neufeld, Jake Weidemann reach podium in men’s 1500m

MILWAUKEE – Canadians Jess Neufeld and Jake Weidemann earned the first international medals of their speed skating careers on Saturday, capturing silver and bronze in the men’s 1500-metre event at the ISU Four Continents Speed Skating Championships.

Neufeld’s time of 1:45.990 put the Winnipeg native second only to South Korea’s Min Seok Kim.

Weidemann, from Ottawa, rounded out the podium after crossing the line in 1:46.498 — ahead of teammate David La Rue (Saint-Lambert, Que.) who ended up in fourth.

“It’s a dream come true for me to be on the podium,” said Neufeld. “It was an honour for me just to be a part of this competition, so this was the best outcome that I could have had. It was super cool to be on the podium with my teammate and good friend Jake.”

Meanwhile, Alexa Scott of Clandeboye, Man., placed fourth in the women’s 1500 with a time of 1:58.474.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2020.