Canadian Olympic silver medalist Laurent Dubreuil of Quebec City, Quebec won the gold medal in a World Cup men’s 500 metre speed skating race in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland on Sunday. It was one of two medals Dubreuil won on the weekend as he also won a silver medal in another 500 metre race on Saturday. Dubreuil won a silver medal in the men’s 1000 metres at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
Canadian speed skaters won two additional medals in Poland. Canadian Olympic gold medalist Ivanie Blondin of Ottawa, Ontario won the silver medal in the women’s mass start, and teamed up with Canadian Olympic gold medalist Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Quebec and Beatrice Lamarche of Quebec City, Quebec to win silver in the women’s team pursuit. Blondin and Maltias won the gold medal in the women’s team pursuit at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
In the men’s 500 metre race on Saturday, Dubreuil had a silver medal winning time of 34.77 seconds. Tingyu Gao of China won the gold medal with a time of 34.7 seconds. Wataru Morishige of Japan won the bronze medal with a time of 34.82 seconds. Dubreuil reached the podium by 0.05 seconds as Jordan Stolz of the United States finished in fourth place with a time of 34.82 seconds.
In the women’s team pursuit on Saturday, Blondin, Maltais and Lamarche had a time of 3:03.24. Japan won the gold medal with a time of 3:00.35. Poland won the bronze medal with a time of 3:05.88. Canada reached the podium by 4.44 seconds over China, which finished in fourth place with a time of 3:07.68. In the World Cup women’s mass start speed skating standings, Canada has 108 points, and is only behind Japan, which leads with 120 points.
In the men’s 500 metres on Sunday, Dubreuil had a gold medal winning time of 34.73 seconds. Gao won the silver medal with a time of 34.79 seconds. Damian Zurek of Poland won the bronze medal with a time of 34.87 seconds. Dubreuil reached the podium by 0.16 seconds over Yuma Murakami of Japan, who finished in fourth place with a time of 34.89 seconds. In the World Cup men’s 500 metre speed skating standings, Dubreuil is in second place with 318 points. Morishige leads with 378 points.
In the women’s mass start on Sunday, Blondin finished behind gold medalist Irene Schouten of the Netherlands, and ahead of bronze medalist Mia Kilburn-Manganello of the United States. Blondin is third in the World Cup women’s mass start standings with 168 points. Kilburn-Manganello leads with 187 points and Maltais is in second with 183 points. The weekend medals in Poland for Blondin, Lamarche, Maltais and Dubreuil will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
