Canadian skaters add one silver and one bronze to the country’s final medal tally on Sunday

NAGANO, JAPAN – Ivanie Blondin was a key player in the two medals earned by the Canadian speed skating team on Sunday – a silver in the women’s Mass Start and a bronze in the Mixed Relay, alongside Yankun Zhao – that pushed her country’s total for the weekend to four medals.

In the women’s Mass Start, Blondin made excellent use of her versatile tactic to remain within the front pack of skaters, while conserving her energy for the final sprint. She crossed the line in second place (8:36.71), narrowly behind Dutch rival Marijke Groenewoud (8:36.64).

Only a few races later, the 34-year-old Ottawa native gave the Mixed Relay every last bit of her energy to ensure that one of her younger teammates could experience that same winning feeling on the international stage.

“I knew it was possible to win a full set of medals this weekend. Both Yankun [Zhao] and I have short track backgrounds, so we are adaptable to missed exchanges and anything else thrown our way. It’s cool to see that the slingshot [in long track] worked just as well as the push in short track that we are used to. It is so special to share Yankun’s first World Cup podium with him!”

Ivanie Blondin

Not only did the win mark 20-year-old Zhao’s first career World Cup podium, 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.

“This first World Cup podium is pretty special, especially this early in my career. I think the Mixed Relay is a very fun distance. It’s so exciting to be working alongside a teammate for the entire race, so it brings back a bit of feeling from my short track days.”

Yankun Zhao

A talented group of Blondin and Zhao’s Canadian teammates finished just off the podium on Sunday. The women’s and men’s team pursuit squads skated with non-traditional line-ups but managed to capture the fifth and fourth fastest times amongst the field, respectively. Meanwhile, Laurent Dubreuil skated at a strong pace for the second 500m of the weekend, but his time of 34.78 landed him a fourth-place finish among a set of world-class athletes.  

The ISU World Cup Speed Skating circuit continues next weekend in Beijing. Races will be live streamed on CBC Sports beginning at 4:00 ET on November 29.

Results

Team Events

Mixed Relay – 3rd
Women’s Team Pursuit – 5th
Men’s Team Pursuit – 4th

Women’s 500m

Carolina Hiller – 12th
Béatrice Lamarche – 13th (B Division)
Maddison Pearman – 23rd (B Division)

Men’s 500m

Laurent Dubreuil – 4th
Yankun Zhao – 2nd (B Division)
Christopher Fiola – 6th (B Division)
Anders Johnson – 11th (B Division)

Women’s Mass Start

Ivanie Blondin – 2nd
Valérie Maltais – 7th

Men’s Mass Start

Hayden Mayeur – 17th
David La Rue – 4th (B Division)