De Haitre breaks Canadian record in 1,000 metres at world championships
CALGARY — Vincent De Haitre had been convinced that he could shatter the Canadian 1,000-metre record for years.
He did it on Saturday at the opening day of the world sprint speedskating championships at the Olympic Oval.
De Haitre, of Cumberland, Ont., blazed to a time of one minute 6.72 seconds, toppling the 10-year-old standard established by the Jeremy Wotherspoon, 1:07.03, in Salt Lake City.
Wotherspoon, in his capacity as coach of Norway’s sprint team, just happened to be stationed near the finish line during De Haitre’s race.