HAMAR — Ivanie Blondin helped Canada win gold in the team pursuit then followed that up with a bronze in the women’s mass start event on Sunday in the final day of ISU World Cup Speed Skating action before the holidays, bringing Canada’s long-track season total up to 15 medals across four events.
Ottawa’s Isabelle Weidemann, Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Que., and Blondin, also from Ottawa, overcame a slow start, the third slowest in the field, for their first team pursuit gold of 2025.
The Canadians gradually chipped away at the lead, overtaking their opponents in the final 200 metres to earn the top spot.
Canada secured gold in two minutes 57.20 seconds, narrowly ahead of the United States (2:57.29), while Japan rounded out the podium in bronze (2:58.62).
It was Canada’s first World Cup victory in the women’s team pursuit since January 2024 in Salt Lake City.
Weidemann, Maltais and Blondin also won silver earlier this season in Salt Lake City and Calgary, after not reaching the podium at all during last season’s campaign.
The defending Olympic champions finish the World Cup season ranked first overall (169 points), slightly ahead of Japan (156 points).
In the women’s mass start event, the 35-year-old Blondin shadowed Dutch rival Marijke Groenewoud for much of the race but was unable to overtake her in the final sprint, crossing the line with a time of 8:24.47 to take bronze, narrowly behind Groenewoud (8:24.28).
The race was won by Bente Kerkhoff of the Netherlands (8:23.19), who broke away following the final intermediate sprint lap and never looked back. Fellow Canadian Maltais finished just off the podium in fifth place (8:24.89).
Canada’s top speedskaters have a few weeks off before lacing up their skates again at the Long Track Canada Cup from Jan. 3-6, 2026, in Quebec City, where the remaining Olympic team spots will be filled.
The 2025-26 international speedskating season features one last World Cup stop in Inzell, from Jan. 23-25, before the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina get underway in early February.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2025.
The Canadian Press
