Canadian Olympic gold medalist Ivanie Blondin of Ottawa, Ontario came away with a gold medal on Saturday (Friday in Canada) in the women’s 3000 metres at a World Cup speed skating event in Nagano, Japan. It was one of two medals Blondin won on the weekend in events with Olympic status, as she also won the silver medal in the women’s mass start. Blondin’s Olympic gold medal came at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, when she won gold in the women’s team pursuit with Isabelle Weidemann of Ottawa and Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Quebec.
In the women’s 3000 metres, Blondin had a winning time of 4:03.76. Ragne Wiklund of Norway won the silver medal with a time of 4:04.60. Joy Beune of the Netherlands won the bronze medal with a time of 4:04.60. Blondin reached the podium by 1.11 seconds over Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic, who had a fourth place time of 4:04.87. In the women’s mass start, Blondin placed behind gold medalist Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands, and ahead of bronze medalist Elisa Dul of the Netherlands.
Canada’s only other medal in an event with Olympic recognition came from Canadian Olympic silver medalist Laurent Dubreuil of Quebec City, Quebec. In the men’s 500 metres on Friday (Thursday in Canada), Dubreuil had a time of 34.58 seconds as he won the silver medal. Jordan Stolz of the United States won the gold medal with a time of 34.43 seconds. Tatsuya Shinhama of Japan won the bronze medal with a time of 34.58 seconds. Dubreuil, who won the silver medal in the men’s 1000 metres at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, reached the podium by five one hundredths of a second. Jenning De Boo of the Netherlands finished in fourth place with a time of 34.63 seconds.
In the men’s 500 metre World Cup standings, Dubreuil is in third place with 97 points. He is behind Stolz, who is in first place with 120 points, and Shinhama, who is in second place with 102 points. The medals for Blondin and Dubreuil will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
