The 24-year-old former Moose Jaw Kinsmen Speedskating Club competitor cracked the top 10 in the 5,000 metres during World Cup II in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland on Friday, marking the second time in as many weeks the Team Canada skater has put together that lofty a finish against international competition.
Fish finished in eighth place in a time of six minutes, 28.03 seconds and did so while paired with reigning two-time world all-around championship winner Patrick Roest of the Netherlands. While Fish would cross the line 8.69 seconds back of the veteran World Cup competitor, the opportunity to test himself on the track against that level of skater was heartening.
“It feels great to have my second top-10 result in two weeks and I definitely want to keep on improving,” Fish said in a press release from Speedskating Canada. “I was excited to race Roest; right now he’s the best distance skater in the world. I had to go out and skate my own race, not focusing too much on what he was doing. Hopefully I’m closer to him next time!”
Fish’s finish was the top showing of all Canadians, with 5,000 metres world record holder and Olympic medalist Ted-Jan Bloemen finishing 12th and Jordan Belchos 14th overall.
The news was even better one week ago during World Cup I in Minsk, Belarus.
There, Fish would win his pairing with Germany’s Bart Swings, crossing the line in 6:24.74 to finish fifth overall, 8.12 seconds back of Roest in first.
As a result, Fish currently sits in seventh place in the ISU World Cup Long Distance standings, with World Cup III set for Dec. 5-7 in Nur-Sultan, Kazh. and World Cup IV taking place Dec. 12-14 in Nagano, Japan.
