Canadian speedskaters delivered a strong performance to close out the third World Cup stop of the season, securing a podium finish in the Netherlands on Sunday.
Silver Medal Performance in Team Sprint
The trio of Brooklyn McDougall from Calgary, Béatrice Lamarche of Quebec City, and Ivanie Blondin from Ottawa combined their efforts to win a silver medal in the women's team sprint event. This was the first team sprint competition of the season.
The Canadians posted a time of one minute and 26.05 seconds on the ice in Heerenveen. They finished just 0.87 seconds behind the gold medal-winning team from the host nation, the Netherlands. The Polish team, which skated in the final pairing alongside the Dutch, earned the bronze medal with a time of 1:26.65.
Close Calls and Other Results
Ivanie Blondin came agonizingly close to a second medal on the final day of competition. She finished in fourth place in the women's mass start event, narrowly missing the podium.
Blondin's time of 8:08.30 placed her just behind Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands (8:07.66), Mia Manganello of the United States (8:07.92), and Ji-Woo Park of South Korea (8:08.28).
In men's competition, Canada's Laurent Dubreuil of Lévis, Quebec, finished in sixth place in the fiercely competitive 500-metre event.
Looking Ahead
The ISU World Cup speedskating circuit continues its season next weekend. The athletes will now travel to Hamar, Norway, for the next series of competitions, where the Canadian team will look to build on this successful silver medal result.
