Canada continued its strong showing at the World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships on Friday, collecting three more medals on Calgary’s Olympic Oval.
Dubreuil repeats as 500m silver medallist for Canada’s 6th medal through 2 days
Zack Smart · CBC Sports
· Posted: Feb 16, 2024 4:11 PM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours ago
From left: Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin and Valérie Maltais won silver in the women’s team pursuit on home ice at the World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships on Friday in Calgary, clocking 2:54.03 on the Olympic Oval. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)Canada continued its strong showing at the World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships on Friday, collecting three more medals on Calgary’s Olympic Oval.
The trio of Valérie Maltais, Isabelle Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin won silver in the women’s team pursuit, while the men’s pursuit team of Connor Howe, Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu and Hayden Mayeur followed it up with bronze.
Laurent Dubreuil repeated as silver medallist in the men’s 500 metres to close out the second day of competition.
The Canadian women, who won Olympic gold in 2022, clocked a time of two minutes 54.03 seconds for second place behind the Netherlands, edging Japan for silver by 0.86 seconds.
Joy Beune, Irene Schouten and Marijke Groeneoud reclaimed the world title from Canada in a track-record time of 2:51.20. The Dutch women were the fastest at last year’s worlds, but were disqualified because of an equipment violation.
WATCH l Canadian women take team pursuit silver:
More world championship speed skating medals for Canada on home ice in CalgaryValérie Maltais, Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann claimed the silver medal in the team pursuit final at the world speed skating single distances championships in Calgary Friday.
In team pursuit, two teams of three skaters begin simultaneously on opposite sides of the oval and race the clock over six laps for women and eight laps for men.
Ottawa’s Blondin and Weidemann also reached the podium on Thursday. Weidemann secured silver in the women’s 3,000m before Blondin helped Canada retain its women’s team sprint title alongside Carolina Hiller and Maddison Pearman.
THE BUZZER
What to watch this weekend in Olympic sportsDubreuil was bested by American defending champion Jordan Stolz, who narrowly beat the Lévis, Que., native in the final pairing by just 0.26 seconds — setting a track record with a personal-best mark of 33.69. Poland’s Damian Żurek also clocked a personal best to round out the podium (34.11).
Dubreuil finished second in the 500m World Cup standings this season and was the world champion in 2021. He won the men’s team sprint event alongside Gélinas-Beaulieu and Anders Johnson in world-record time on Thursday, completing the Canadian team sprint sweep for the second straight year.
WATCH l Dubreuil finishes behind Stolz for 500m silver:
Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil adds a silver medal at the world speed skating championshipsLaurent Dubreuil of Levis, Que., captured a silver medal in the 500-metre final Friday, adding to the team sprint gold he won Thursday at the world speed skating single distances championships in Calgary.
Canada was in gold-medal position in the men’s team pursuit entering the final pairing between Italy and Norway, which ultimately saw the home team bumped down to third place. The Canadian men finished 0.65 seconds behind the Norwegians with a time of 3:36.72, while Italy’s Andrea Giovannini, Davide Ghiotto and Michele Malfatti set a track record (3:35).
Femke Kok of the Netherlands successfully defended her title in the women’s 500m with a personal-best time of 36.83. South Korean silver medallist Kim Min-sun posted a time of 37.19 to finish just ahead of American Kimi Goetz (37.21).
Canada has won six medals at the four-day competition. The Canadians placed second in the standings behind the Netherlands at last year’s edition with seven medals (three gold, three silver, one bronze).
Live coverage of the world championships continues Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem. Play-by-play and colour commentary will be supplied by CBC Sports’ Signa Butler and Anastasia Bucsis, a former Olympic speed skater.
WATCH l Canada snags bronze in men’s team pursuit:
Canada’s men’s pursuit team adds a world championship bronze to Calgary medal haulConnor Howe, Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu and Hayden Mayeur of Canada skated to a bronze medal in the team pursuit at the world speed skating single distances championships in Calgary Friday.
With files from The Canadian Press
