Canadian Olympic gold medalist Ivanie Blondin of Ottawa, Ontario won the gold medal in the women’s mass start on Sunday at a World Cup speed skating event at the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta. It was one of two medals won by Blondin on Sunday as she was also part of the Canadian team that won the silver medal in the women’s team pursuit with fellow Canadian Olympic gold medalists Isabelle Weidemann of Ottawa, and Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Quebec. On Friday, Maltais won the bronze medal in the women’s 3000 metres, and Canadian Olympic gold medalist Ted-Jan Bloemen won the bronze medal in the men’s 5000 metres.
Blondin beat silver medalist Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands and bronze medalist Mia Manganello of the United States in the mass start. In the Women’s Mass Start World Cup standings, Blondin is in second place with 100 points. Manganello leads with 108 points.
In the women’s team pursuit, Blondin, Weidemann and Maltais had a second place time of 2:52.688. The Netherlands won the gold medal with a time of 2:52.528. Japan won the bronze medal with a time of 2:53.089. Canada reached the podium by 0.896 seconds over the United States, which had a fourth place time of 2:53.584. In the Team Pursuit World Cup standings for the women, Canada and Japan have 108 points each.
In the women’s 3000 metres, Blondin won the bronze medal with a personal best time of 3:56.45. Blondin reached the podium by 0.21 seconds over Weidemann, who had a fourth place time of 3:56.66. Joy Beune of the Netherlands won the gold medal with a time of 3:54.42 and Ragne Wiklund of Norway won the silver medal with a time of 3:55.25. In the World Cup women’s 3000m standings, Maltais is in second place with 102 points. Beune leads with 120 points.
In the men’s 5000 metres, Bloemen won the bronze medal with a time of 6:02.26. Casey Dawson of the United States won the gold medal with a World Cup time of 6:01.84. Sander Eitrem of Norway won the silver medal with a time of 6:01.86. Bloemen reached the podium by 0.21 seconds. World record holder Timothy Loubineaud of France finished in fourth place with a time of 6:02.47. In the World Cup standings in the men’s 5000 metres, Bloemen is in fifth place with 84 points. Dawson and Loubineaud are the co-leaders with 103 points.
Blondin, Weidemann and Maltais won a gold medal in the women’s team pursuit at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. Bloemen won gold in the men’s 10 000 metres at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The World Cup medals for Blondin, Bloemen, Weidemann and Maltais will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
