Canadian Olympic silver medalist Laurent Dubreuil of Quebec City, Quebec, and Connor Howe of Canmore, Alberta each won the gold medal for Canada in a Speed Skating World Cup this past weekend in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Dubreuil, who won silver in the men’s 1000 metres at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, placed first in the men’s 500 metres on Saturday. Then Howe won the gold medal in the men’s 1500 metres on Sunday.
In the men’s 500 metres, Dubreuil had a winning gold medal time of 34.34 seconds. Wataru Morishige of Japan won the silver medal with a time of 34.45 seconds. Merijn Scheperkamp of the Netherlands won the bronze medal with a time of 34.69 seconds. Dubreuil reached the podium by 0.36 seconds over Jordan Stolz of the United States, who had a fourth place time of 34.7 seconds. In the men’s 500 metre speed skating World Cup standings, Dubreuil leads with 114 points. Yuma Murakami of Japan is second with 100 points.
In the men’s 1500 metres, Howe had a winning gold medal time of 1:43.38. Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands won the silver medal with a time of 1:43.64. Thomas Krol of the Netherlands won the bronze medal with a time of 1:43.83. Howe reached the podium by 0.48 seconds over Peder Kongshaug of Norway, who had a fourth place time of 1:43.86. In the men’s 1500 metre speed skating World Cup standings, Howe also leads with 114 points. Stolz is in second with 92 points.
On the women’s side, Canada won two medals. In the women’s 3000 metres on Sunday, Canadian Olympic gold medalist Isabelle Weidemann of Ottawa, Ontario had a time of 3:57.70 to win silver. Irene Schouten of the Netherlands won the gold medal with a time of 3:54.04, a track record. Ragne Wiklund of Norway won the bronze medal with a time of 3:58.31. Weidemann reached the podium by 1.02 seconds over Joy Beune of the Netherlands, who had a fourth place time of 3:58.72. In the women’s 3000 metre speed skating World Cup standings, Weidemann is in third with 102 points. Schouten leads with 114 points and Wiklund is in second with 108 points.
Finally, in the women’s mass start on Friday, Canadian Olympic gold medalist Ivanie Blondin of Ottawa won the bronze medal behind Schouten, who won gold, and Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands, who won silver. In the World Cup women’s mass start speed skating standings, Blondin is in second with 168 points. Groenewoud leads with 172 points.
Blondin and Weidemann won a gold medal for Canada together in the women’s team pursuit at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The medals for Blondin, Weidemann, Dubreuil and Howe in Heerenveen, Netherlands over the last three days will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
