Canada's Ivanie Blondin competes in the women's mass start speedskating race of the World Cup final in Thialf ice rink, Heerenveen, Netherlands, Sunday, March 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Peter Dejong
STAVANGER, Norway – Canadian long-track speedskater Ivanie Blondin won gold in the women’s mass start and Laurent Dubreuil took silver in the men’s 1,000 metres on Sunday at the ISU World Cup.
Blondin, an Ottawa native, finished first in eight minutes 58.72 seconds.
“I positioned myself well throughout the race and used some of my techniques to execute an inside pass on the Dutch skaters in the final corner,” she said. “I trained a lot with the men this summer and I think I gained some advantages from their speed that played out in today’s race. This is a great start to the season.”
Marijke Groenewoud (8:58.80) took silver and Dutch teammate Irene Schouten (8:59.05) earned bronze.
Dubreuil, from Levis, Que., won silver for the second straight day. He finished the 1,000 in 1:09.22 to take second spot behind American Jordan Stolz (1:08.73).
“I worked very hard over the past few months to improve my final lap and give myself the chance to win international medals in the 1,000 (metres),” he said. “All of that work is in the process of paying off and it’s so satisfying to see when those efforts are rewarded.”
Japan’s Ryota Kojima (1:09.31) took bronze.
Dubreuil, who won silver in the 500 on Saturday, earned his first World Cup medal in the 1,000 since January 2021 when he won bronze in Heerenveen.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2022.
