Team Canada won the gold medal in the women’s team pursuit at the 2023 World Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen. Netherlands. It was one of three medals Canada won at the World Championships on Friday, as Canada also won the silver medal in the men’s team pursuit and Canadian Olympic silver medalist Laurent Dubreuil of Quebec City, Quebec won the silver medal in the men’s 500 metres. On Thursday, Canada won the gold medal in the men’s and women’s team sprint events.
In the women’s team pursuit, Canada won the gold medal with a time of 2:54.58. The Netherlands initially won the gold medal but were disqualified because Joy Beune had left her ankle exposed and did not wear high socks. Japan won the silver medal with a time of 2:57.30. The United States won bronze with a time of 3:00.99. The Canadian team comprised of Olympic gold medalists Isabelle Weidemann of Ottawa, Ontario, Ivanie Blondin of Ottawa, and Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Quebec reached the podium by 6.41 seconds over China, which had a fourth place time of 3:00.99. Weidemann, Blondin and Maltais won the gold medal in the women’s team pursuit at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
In the men’s team pursuit, the Canadian team comprised of Connor Howe of Canmore, Alberta, Antoine Gelinas-Beaulieu of Sherbrooke, Quebec and Hayden Mayeur of Toronto, Ontario. Canada had a silver medal winning time of 3:38.43. The Netherlands won the gold medal with a time of 3:38.26. Norway won the bronze medal with a time of 3:40.93. Canada reached the podium by 4.26 seconds over Italy, which had a fourth place time of 3:42.69.
In the men’s 500 metres, Dubreuil, who won the silver medal at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, had a time of 34.46 seconds. Jordan Stolz of the United States won the gold medal with a time of 34.1 seconds. Wataru Morishige of Japan won the bronze medal with a time of 34.48 seconds. Dubreuil reached the podium by five one-hundredths of a second over Japan’s Yuma Murakami, who had a time of 34.51 seconds. The medals for Dubreuil, Weidemann, Blondin, Maltais, Howe, Mayeur and Gelinas-Beaulieu will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
