NAGANO, JAPAN – Ivanie Blondin has proven unbeatable over five races on the World Cup Speed Skating circuit, winning the gold medal in each event that she has contested during the last two competitions. In an unparalleled display of consistency, all five wins have come in different disciplines – the 5000m, 1500m, Team Pursuit, Mass Start and, after Saturday’s races in Nagano, the 3000m.
Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.) skated a time of 4:00.243 on Saturday, earning her a new track record at the M-Wave arena. Weidemann, also of Ottawa, skated in the final pair of the 3000m against world record holder Martina Sáblíková of the Czech Republic and came away with the bronze medal. It’s the third time this season that both Canadians have stood together on the podium in an individual event. Sáblíková currently sits atop the World Cup long-distance rankings, a narrow margin ahead of Blondin and Weidemann.
In the men’s Team Pursuit, Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, Alta.), Jordan Belchos (Toronto, Ont.) and Tyson Langelaar (Winnipeg, Man.) skated a time of 3:44.876 to finish with the bronze medal behind the teams from Russia and Japan. They also finish the World Cup season ranked third overall in the event, following the same teams as Saturday’s podium.
It was Langelaar’s second team event medal of the weekend, having also captured bronze in the Team Sprint on Friday. He earns another result for the record books as no Canadian man had previously reached the podium in both team events during the same competition.
The World Cup in Nagano concludes on Sunday with the second ladies’ 500m, the ladies Team Pursuit and the men’s 1000m and 5000m events. Races will be streamed live on CBC Sports beginning at 2:05 am ET. |
|
