Team Canada won three World Cup speed skating medals in Beijing, China on Friday. In the women’s mass start, Canadian Olympic gold medalists Ivanie Blondin of Ottawa, Ontario and Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Quebec won silver and bronze respectively. Meanwhile, in the men’s 500 metres, Canadian Olympic silver medalist Laurent Dubreuil of Quebec City, Quebec won the silver medal. Blondin and Maltais teamed up with Isabelle Weidemann of Ottawa, to win the gold medal in the women’s team pursuit at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. Dubreuil won the silver medal in the men’s 1000 metres at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
In the women’s mass start, Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands won the gold medal. In the World Cup women’s mass start standings, Blondin leads with 114 points and Maltais is tied for second place with Mia Kikburg-Manganello of the United States, as they each have 91 points.
In the men’s 500 metres, Dubreuil had a time of 34.81 seconds. Wataru Morishige of Japan won the gold medal with a time of 34.69 seconds. Yuma Murakami of Japan won the bronze medal with a time of 34.82 seconds. Dubreuil reached the podium by 0.13 seconds over Tingyu Gao of China, who finished in fourth place with a time of 34.94 seconds. In the World Cup standings, Dubreuil is in fourth with 166 points. Morishige leads with 234 points. The medals for Dubreuil, Blondin, and Maltais will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
