Weekend Roundup: Blondin shines at Canadian Championships, two Canadians podium in big air World Cup openers
Get ready to celebrate, because winter sports are officially back in action! Over the past weekend, Team Canada athletes hit the ice and snow, bringing home their first medals of the season and setting the stage for an exciting pre-Olympic season ahead.
The 2024 Canadian Long Track Championships wrapped up on Sunday after four thrilling days of competition, crowning new national champions and showcasing some incredible talent. Meanwhile, snowboarder Laurie Blouin and freestyler skier Dylan Deschamps kicked off their World Cup seasons in style, each landing on the podium at the Big Air Chur event.
As we embrace the winter competition season, here’s everything you need to know to stay in the loop:
Freestyle Skiing: Deschamps returns to World Cup podium in Chur
In an exhilarating start to his season, Dylan Deschamps clinched the bronze medal in men’s ski big air in Chur, Switzerland.
Entering the final as the second seed, Deschamps faced a setback with a crash on his first jump. Undeterred, he bounced back with scores of 86.50 and 85.75 on his second and third runs, respectively. His combined total of 172.25 secured him the final step on the podium, placing him 1.25 points ahead of fourth place.
“The day was pretty crazy. I had a pretty bad crash and got hurt, but I had to get mentally prepared and make sure I landed on my feet. My second and third jumps went really well. I went big on the triple 18, and I’m pretty hyped. I was scared to land in transition, but I managed to stick it. For the third jump, I did a switch bio – I had just tried it in practice, and it went pretty well. Being the third to drop in the final and having to wait was stressful, but I was just hoping to make the podium, and it happened.”
This event marks his return to competition after recovering from shoulder reconstruction surgery earlier this year.
Snowboard: Blouin wins bronze in first big air World Cup of season
The day after Deschamps’ podium performance, Laurie Blouin earned a bronze medal of her own in women’s snowboard big air in Chur. She scored 83.50 on her first run and 79.50 on her second for a total score of 163.00.
Speed Skating: Action wraps at Canadian Long Track Championships
All eyes were on Québec City as long track speed skaters took to the ice for the 2024 Canadian Long Track Championships. The stakes were high, with results from this four-day competition playing a crucial role in athlete selections for the ISU World Cup circuit that will get underway in a few weeks.
Ivanie Blondin was the star of the show, capturing three gold medals in the 3000m, 1000m, and 1500m events. She also earned a bronze medal in the 500m race.
Valérie Maltais came close to gold twice, finishing just behind Blondin in the 3000m and 1500m events. However, she came away with a victory on the final day of competition by winning the women’s mass start. It was also a big weekend for Laura Hall, who celebrated her first national crown after winning the 5000m race. Carolina Hiller won the women’s 500m for the third straight time.
READ: 2024 Canadian Long Track Championships: Ivanie Blondin dominates with three gold medals
On the men’s side, both Graeme Fish and Connor Howe each got their hands on two gold medals. Fish crossed the finish line first in the 10,000m and 5000m events, while Howe succeeded in the 1000m and 1500m races.
As for Laurent Dubreuil, he continued his domination at the 500m race, winning gold for the fifth year in a row.
Track Cycling: Bibic rides to world championship bronze
Canadians were ready to roll at the 2024 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Ballerup, Denmark. The lone Canadian to stand on a podium was Dylan Bibic, who claimed bronze in the men’s elimination race. It is his second straight world championship medal in the event and the third world championship medal of his career. He’s the only Canadian track cyclist to win a medal over the past three years at the worlds.
In the women’s team pursuit, the Canadian quartet of Lily Plante, Kiara Lylyk, Ariane Bonhomme and Fiona Majendie finished fourth, falling to Italy in the race for bronze.
Figure Skating: Grand Prix season begins at Skate America
The 2024 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating began with Skate American in Allen, Texas where several Canadian skaters seized the opportunity to gain invaluable experience for the season ahead.
Two Canadian teams competed in ice dance. Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer, who are considered a team on the rise, started off very strongly by placing fourth in the rhythm dance. However, the free dance was not as smooth as Fabbri fell during the required twizzle sequence which dropped them all the way to 10th place overall. Veteran couple Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac delivered two strong programs ended up in seventh place with two good programs.
Reigning national champion Wesley Chiu finished ninth overall in the men’s competition.
“Overall, I think this was a good experience. I learned a lot of new lessons, so I’m glad to get those bumps and wobbles out of the way at the beginning of the season. Now it’s time to go back and work hard for the next event,” said Chiu, whose next Grand Prix appearance will be at the Cup of China at the end of November.
The next stop on the Grand Prix Circuit is the 50th edition of Skate Canada International taking place October 25-27 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Canadian skaters will compete in every discipline, including reigning world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps in pairs and three-time world medallists in ice dance, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.
Swimming: Canadians compete in short course World Cup
The World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2024 made its first stop of the season in Shanghai, China and Olympian Ingrid Wilm got off to a great start with two bronze medals in the women’s 50m and 100m backstroke.
In the 50m race, she finished with a time of 26.08, which placed her behind American Regan Smith and gold medallist Kaylee McKeown from Australia. In the 100m event, Wilm clocked a time of 56.64. This time, Smith got first place and her fellow American Beata Nelson earned the silver medal.
Wilm could not get her hand on the medal in the 200m event, finishing fifth. Mary-Sophie Harvey won silver in the women’s 200m freestyle and was fourth in the 100m individual medley and 200m butterfly. Sophie Angus competed in the women’s 100m and 200m breaststroke, finishing seventh and eight, respectively.
Tennis: Diallo reaches first career ATP final
Gabriel Diallo advanced to his first career final on the ATP Tour, finishing as the runner-up of the Almaty Open in Kazakhstan, an ATP 250 event. He came from a set down to win his quarterfinal before getting a straight sets victory in the semifinals. He fell to Karen Khachanov in three sets in the final, 2-6, 7-5, 3-6.
Triathlon: Mislawchuk races to career best at World Triathlon Championship Final
Tyler Mislawchuk matched the result he put up at Paris 2024 when he placed ninth in the World Triathlon Championship Final on Sunday in Torremolinos, Spain. It is a career-best Olympic distance world championship result for Mislawchuk, who also finished ninth in last year’s World Triathlon Championship Final and at the 2023 World Triathlon Sprint Championships.
After a challenging swim leg, Mislawchuk battled from the back of the pack throughout the bike leg and then the run to get himself into the top 10. It was his ability to move up from the chase pack that made him feel this result was better than his three other ninth-place results in the above mentioned global events.
