Canada's Ivanie Blondin skates during the women's team sprint event at the ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
NAGANO, Japan – Ivanie Blondin was a key player in two of Canada’s medals at the long-track speedskating World Cup on Sunday, earning a silver in the women’s mass start and a bronze with Yankun Zhao in the mixed gender relay.
Those two pushed Canada’s total for the weekend to four medals.
Blondin made excellent use of her versatile tactic to remain within the front pack of skaters in the women’s mass start, while conserving her energy for the final sprint.
She crossed the line in second place eight minutes 36.71 seconds, just behind Dutch rival Marijke Groenewoud (8:36.64).
Only a few races later, the 34-year-old Ottawa native raced in the mixed gender relay.
She combined with Zhao for the first career World Cup podium for the 20-year-old’s career. It was also Canada’s first-ever medal in the mixed gender relay, a new discipline that was officially added to the World Cup circuit last season.
Canada’s women’s and men’s team pursuit squads skated with non-traditional lineups but managed to capture the fifth and fourth fastest times in the field, respectively.
Meanwhile, Laurent Dubreuil of Levis, Que., skated at a strong pace for the second 500-metre of the weekend, but his time of 34.78 seconds landed him a fourth-place finish.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2024.
