Canadians skate to seven top ten results across all four of Saturday’s races

NAGANO, JAPAN – Ivanie Blondin was golden in the women’s 3000m at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Nagano on Saturday. The skater from Ottawa, Ont. led the long-distance race from start to finish, posting the fastest split time for each lap to finish with a clocking of 4:03.76.

Skating in the third of eight pairs, Blondin faced a long wait to determine her final result. Blondin’s time remained atop the leaderboard after the final competitor had crossed the line, with Ragne Wiklund of Norway and Joy Beune of the Netherlands coming closest to the Canadian’s pace with matching times of 4:04.60.

The win marked Blondin’s first gold medal in an individual World Cup distance other than the Mass Start since the last event at the M-Wave in Nagano during the 2019-20 season. The versatile skater followed up Saturday’s podium performance by cracking the top ten in the 1000m a mere two hours later.

“I knew it was a good race, but I wasn’t expecting the result after I finished, especially knowing who was skating after me. I knew I was skating well, especially after yesterday’s 1500m which was confirmation I was heading in the right direction. But I’m still a little bit shocked by the win! My mindset is good this year; I am trying new things and having a lot of fun during training, and I think that being more relaxed is paying off on the ice.”

Ivanie Blondin

Another five Canadian skaters also earned top ten results during Saturday’s races. Valérie Maltais (Saguenay, Que.) and Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.) were fifth and ninth, respectively, in the women’s 3000m. In the men’s 5000m, Graeme Fish (Moose Jaw, Sask.) finished just off the podium in fourth, while Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, Alta.) was sixth. Laurent Dubreuil (Lévis, Que.) picked up a ninth-place result in the men’s 1000m to finish the day.

The ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Nagano wraps up on Sunday with the Team Pursuit, second 500m, Mass Start and Mixed Gender Relay. Races begin at 11:00pm ET and will be streamed live on CBC Sports.

Results

Women’s 3000m

Ivanie Blondin – 1st
Valérie Maltais – 5th
Isabelle Weidemann – 9th
Laura Hall – 13th

Men’s 5000m

Graeme Fish – 4th
Ted-Jan Bloemen – 6th

Women’s 1000m

Ivanie Blondin – 10th
Béatrice Lamarche – 15th
Carolina Hiller – 10th (B Division)
Maddison Pearman – 15th (B Division)

Men’s 1000m

Laurent Dubreuil – 9th
Connor Howe – 18th
Anders Johnson – 15th (B Division)
David La Rue – 22nd (B Division)