Canada’s Dubreuil, Blondin skate to silver medals at World Cup season finale in the Netherlands

Canadian speed skaters Ivanie Blondin and Laurent Dubreuil both secured silver medals on Sunday at the final stop of the long track World Cup tour in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

In the men’s 500-metre race, Laurent Dubreuil, aged 32, finished in second place with a time of 34.51 seconds. He was just 0.05 seconds behind Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Koshkin. Dubreuil narrowly edged out Dutch favourite Jenning de Boo by 0.01 seconds to claim the silver medal. Despite missing out on gold, Dubreuil expressed his happiness with his performance, stating that he felt some fatigue from a full season of racing but was still pleased with his overall skating.

Dubreuil, a two-time Olympian from Lévis, Que., ended the season with 476 points in the distance, securing second place in the overall rankings. American skater Jordan Stolz topped the standings with 568 points. Dubreuil reflected on his successful season, noting that despite dealing with an injury in the fall, he managed to win six 500m medals, making it one of his best seasons to date.

On the other hand, Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin, aged 34, wrapped up her World Cup campaign with a second-place finish in the women’s mass start event. She was narrowly beaten by two-time mass start world champion Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands, who finished just 0.02 seconds ahead of Blondin in the 16-lap race. Blondin made a strong move on the inside corner heading into the final lap, taking the lead momentarily before Groenewoud surged ahead to claim victory.

Blondin expressed her satisfaction with her performance, stating that she was happy with her race despite narrowly missing out on the gold medal. It was Blondin’s third mass start medal of the season, adding to her bronze and silver finishes from previous events. She finished fourth in the overall standings with 223 points, while Groenewoud secured the top spot with 340 points.

Blondin and her teammate Anders Johnson of Burnaby, B.C., also competed in the mixed relay event, finishing in fifth place to close out the day. The Canadian long track speed skaters will now turn their focus to the world single-distances championships in Hamar, Norway, scheduled from March 13-16. Fans can catch live coverage of the championships on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.

Overall, both Blondin and Dubreuil showcased their talent and determination at the World Cup tour, setting the stage for an exciting season ahead in the world of speed skating.