Ivanie Blondin was a key player in two of Canada’s medals at the long-track speedskating World Cup on Sunday, earning a silver in the women’s mass start and a bronze with Yankun Zhao in the mixed gender relay.
Those two pushed Canada’s total for the weekend to four medals.
“I knew it was possible to win a full set of medals this weekend,” said Blondin.
Blondin made excellent use of her versatile tactic to remain within the front pack of skaters in the women’s mass start, while conserving her energy for the final sprint.
She crossed the line in second place eight minutes 36.71 seconds, just behind Dutch rival Marijke Groenewoud (8:36.64).
Only a few races later, the 34-year-old Ottawa native raced in the mixed gender relay.
She combined with Zhao for the first career World Cup podium for the 20-year-old’s career. It was also Canada’s first-ever medal in the mixed gender relay, a new discipline that was officially added to the World Cup circuit last season.
“Both Yankun and I have short-track backgrounds, so we are adaptable to missed exchanges and anything else thrown our way,” said Blondin. “It’s cool to see that the slingshot (in long track) worked just as well as the push in short track that we are used to.
“It is so special to share Yankun’s first World Cup podium with him.”
Canada’s women’s and men’s team pursuit squads skated with non-traditional lineups but managed to capture the fifth and fourth fastest times in the field, respectively.
Meanwhile, Laurent Dubreuil of Levis, Que., skated at a strong pace for the second 500-metre of the weekend, but his time of 34.78 seconds landed him a fourth-place finish.
