Nico Hiller and his sister Carolina of the Prince George Bllizzard Speed Skating Club served notice on the weekend in Calgary their speed skating talents are not confined to a short track rink.
The 17-year-old twins let it rip on the 400-metre long track oval used for the 1988 Winter Olympics and were rewarded with medals for the efforts.
Skating for Team Canada, Nico teamed up with Jacob Graham of Dawson Creek and Alex Garvey of Calgary to win silver in the team sprint at the International Skating Union Junior Regional World Cup. The competition featured the top 17-19-year-old long track racers from the Asia-Pacific region.
Nico Hiller also posted an eighth-place finish in the 3,000-metre event and was 11th in the 1,500m race. He posted top-15 results in three of his seven races and was in the top-30 in the other four events. The 90-skater men's field included two-time Olympic team member Jamie Gregg and national development team skater Phiippe Riopel.
Carolina Hiller won gold in the women's mass start (nine-lap) distance race at the Can-Am International meet. Hiller won a thrilling three-skater photo finish in a time of 6:09.73, just ahead of second-place Olivia Moyse of Moose Jaw, Sask. (6:09.81) and third-place Kasen Neufeld of Winnipeg (6:09.87). Eighteen skaters started the race.
Carolina also posted three top-10 finishes and was in the top-20 in three of her other races.
Allison Desmarais of Vanderhoof was a top-12 finisher in three events and made the top-20 in two other races.
The three-day meet included two-time Canadian Olympic team member Jessica Gregg as well as national team skaters from Canada, the U.S. Norway and China.
Like Nico Hiller, Carolina Hiller and Desmarais have already qualified for the B.C. short track speed skating team for the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George.
Blizzard skaters Samara Thew, Morgan AuCoin, Sylvia Masich, Sam Dalla Lana, Landon Young and Eric Orlowsky, as well as Morgon Bennison of Fort. St. James and Matthew Ebert of Vanderhoof, also competed in the Can-Am meet and all achieved personal bests on the ice in Calgary.
"Nico and Lina were very impressive this weekend, as was everyone else -- I was really impressed with how everyone skated," said Blizzard club head coach Adam Ingle.
"By my count, over 20 personal bests were broken by P.G. Blizzard skaters this weekend. It really speaks volumes about the commitment these athletes have at practice on and off the ice when we see results like this."
Several Blizzard skaters will use their experience at the Calgary competitions to better their chances of qualifying for Team B.C. in the Canada Winter Games long track team trials this weekend in Fort St. John. That list includes Nico Hiller, Thew, AuCoin, Dalla Lana, and Young.
Blizzard skaters will return to the short track this weekend for competitions in Maple Ridge and Vanderhoof.
