Canada's Graeme Fish breaks 10,000m world record at speed skating championships

Canada's Graeme Fish became a world champion in style on Friday.

The 22-year-old Moose Jaw, Sask., native broke the world record in the men's 10,000 metres with a time of 12 minutes 33.868 seconds at the single distance championships in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Fellow Canadian Ted-Jan Bloemen, the reigning Olympic champion in the distance, took silver in 12:45.014.

Calgary's Bloemen was the previous world-record holder at 12:36.30, also set in Salt Lake City during a 2015 World Cup meet.

WATCH | Fish sets 10,000 world record:

Fish overtook that mark by nearly three seconds.

"I really wasn't focused on getting the world record," Fish said. "I just knew I needed to do this time or that time. I just kept going with the flow. Once I got comfortable, it kind of just went well for me."

Germany's Patrick Beckert took bronze after clocking in at 12:47.934.

The win was the first of Fish's career in the distance after making his A-final debut at the December World Cup in Kazakhstan, where he won bronze.

WATCH | Bloemen snags silver in 10,000:

Fish became the first man from outside the Netherlands to win gold in the 10,000 at the world single distance championships. This year is the 20th time the event has been held.

Fish also brought home bronze in the 5,000 on Thursday, where Bloemen won gold.

"This gold medal means a little bit more to me than the world record," Fish said. "It could have been done numerous times before I did it. We never really get to skate here for a 10K. It's awesome. I can't believe it."

Later, Ottawa's Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann and Valerie Maltais of Saguenay, Que., won bronze for Canada in the women's team pursuit. Japan was first and the Netherlands was second.

WATCH | Women's pursuit team wins bronze:

Japan's Nao Kodaira earned gold in the women's 500 metres with a time of 36.69 seconds. Russians Angelina Golikova and Olga Fatkulina claimed the other spots on the podium. Golikova took silver, finishing in 36.74. Fatkulina earned bronze with a time of 36.78.

WATCH | Japan sets women's team pursuit world record:

Russia's Pavel Kulizhnikov claimed gold in the men's 500 metres, finishing in 33.72. Fellow Russian Ruslan Murashov earned silver in 33.99. Japan's Tatsuya Shinhama took bronze with a time of 34.03.

The event runs through Sunday.