Skaters pass through water on the Olympic Oval track during the Irving Jaffee races Saturday, Jan. 11 in Lake Placid. Provided photo — Christie Sausa

LAKE PLACID – The Irving Jaffee Single Distance Championships persevered through rain, snow and challenging ice conditions on Saturday, Jan. 11 and Sunday, Jan. 12 as skaters raced several distances of their choice in preparation for qualifying meets.

Of the nearly 60 competitors, most were skaters from Ontario and Quebec, with several from the United States rounding out the entries.

The Saturday event began with the 500-meter race, followed by the 1,500. On Sunday, skaters competed in the 1,000, 1,800 (for those age 12 and under), 3,000 and 5,000.

Rain and warm temperatures plagued the first day of racing, causing water to accumulate on the track. The second day saw lower temperatures, but high winds and snow, which led to difficult conditions for the later races.

Still, many skaters achieved personal best times, which will help them in securing time standards for qualifying conditions elsewhere.

Emilie Forget of Quebec skates to the finish line at the Irving Jaffee Single Distance Championships on Saturday, Jan. 11. (Provided photo — Sara Neamtz)

Named after Irving Jaffee, who won two gold medals at the 1932 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, the event is notable because as a single-distance competition, skaters were able to choose which distances they wanted to skate rather than being required to compete in all distances to earn points to qualify for awards. Each distance crowned overall and youth male and female winners. Medals were awarded by event assistant referee Cynthia Patnode Carey and 2010 Olympic silver medalist Trevor Marsicano.

Canada swept the results in most distances. The overall ladies medalists in the 500-meter were Claire Liew (46.83), Kiera Bayne (49.04) and Emanuelle LeClerc (49.63), while the overall men’s medalists were Sam Hurtubise (42.30), Jeremie Despres (44.37) and Gabriel Martin (44.74).

The 1,500-meter races were skated through a layer of water topping the ice. The overall ladies winners were Juliette Vaillancourt (2:37.72), Liew (2:37.87) and Jillian Reeves (2:41.62), while the overall men’s winners were Jonah Hurtubise (2:06.66), Despres (2:24.05) and Sam Hurtubise (2:24.59).

In the first race on Sunday, skaters competed through biting high winds and a residual layer of water atop the track in the 1,000-meter race. Liew once again won the overall ladies category with a time of 1:38.53, while LeClerc placed second (1:39.43) and Catherine Girard earned bronze (1:40.32). The men’s medalists were Jean-Gabriel Fortin (1.27.91), Jeremie Despres (1:29.67) and Zacharie Despres (1:33.03).

The 3,000 meter race, which was 7.5 laps on the oval and is considered a long distance, was skated in quads – which means two pairs of skaters competed instead of just one – to ensure distances would be completed in time. The overall ladies winners were Girard (5:42.54), LeClerc (5:45.50) and Emily Wood (5:46.85), while the overall men’s winners were Fortin (5:08.28), Zacharie Despres (5:11.48) and Sammy Hart-Gorman (5:25.97).

The starter fires the gun to start a pairing in the 500-meter race on Saturday, Jan. 11 in the Irving Jaffee races in Lake Placid. (Provided photo — Christie Sausa)

The 1,800-meter race was for skaters age 12 and under was won by Oceane Guerard (3:35.84), Renata Kenzie (3:41.89) and Ariane Joly (3:52.03) in the girls category, and Yoan Perron (3:41.98), Luka Sullivan (3:47.54) and Eliot Fortin (5:06.53).

The last distance, the 5,000-meter race, only included four male competitors but the distance was made even more difficult by the snowfall which turned the top layer of water to slush. The gold medalist was Jeremie Despres (9:34.39), followed by silver medalist Tyler McGillen (9:35.30) and bronze medalist Joshua Sutherland (9:55.12). Narrowly avoiding the bronze medal was Alan Valenti (9:56.45), the only U.S. skater competing in the distance.

Skating on behalf of the Adirondack Speed Skating Club was Lake Placid High School Senior Claire Liew, who trains in Lake Placid, and Sammy Hart-Gorman, of Syracuse, who also works with ASSC coach Tom Miller. Liew, a Canadian, had just returned from Canada Cup 2 in Calgary and set a personal record in the 1,000.

“My favorite distance was the 500 meter because it spared me from the flooding that came later in the day,” Liew said. “The meet was unlike any other I had skated at in my 11 years of experience, but it was fun nonetheless.”

The next event on the Lake Placid Olympic speed skating oval is the Empire State Winter Games from Jan. 30 through Feb. 2. For more information on the Empire Games, including registration for speed skating, go to www.empirestatewintergames.com.