Blondin claims mass start silver, Howe takes 1500m bronze at World Championships
Two Canadians landed on the podium on the final day of the ISU World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships in Hamar, Norway.
After securing two team medals earlier in the competition, Ivanie Blondin capped off a stellar weekend by claiming her first individual medal—a silver in the women’s mass start.
The three-time Olympian stayed out of trouble, bouncing positions in the top half of the pack for the 16-lap test. She edged her way towards the front of the group for the back half of the race. Blondin took the bell lap in fourth spot where she quickly bolted into second position in the sprint finish.
Her time of 8:23.37 was enough to edge out Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida (8.23.37) and secure second place. Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands took the gold with a time of 8:23.17.
“It was a solid race. I didn’t really have the legs for the final sprint. I wasn’t being defensive at all, so it was difficult making my way through. At one point I was a bit further back with two laps left because there was some bumping happening which is usual. I am still happy with the outcome and how I was feeling all week. I just didn’t feel like I was tip top today,” said Blondin.
On the men’s side, Connor Howe secured the bronze medal in the men’s 1500m final. Clocking in at 1:44.78, Howe earned his first career World Championship medal in an individual distance.
The 24-year-old exercised his race plan to near perfection – strong starts, pacing, technique and mental drive. He was on a fifth-place pace until the final lap where he kicked into high gear. Howe was then left to wait and see if the rest of the world could catch him.
“I am really happy. It’s been a few years that I felt like I had the potential, but it never would come together at the right moment so I’m happy it finally came together,” said Howe. “All week I have been focusing on my start because it has been a bit off. I got off the line well today. I was able to save the energy and keep the speed in that last lap. It’s always a bit stressful sitting there watching. I thought it (the time) would hold up decently. It was close between the top three so it could have gone either way.”
Howe was dropped into second place by Norweigian Peder Kongshaug, who took home the gold medal after stopping the clock with a time of 1:44.64. American Jordan Stolz bumped the Cnadian into the bronze-medal position in the final heat, stopping the clock with a time of 1:44.71.
It was a dream race for Canada’s Howe who had five, top-10 World Cup finishes in 1500m action this year. His best result in the middle-distance race came last weekend when he was sixth in Heerenveen.
READ: Long track speed skater Ivanie Blondin isn’t afraid to try new things
The bronze-medal triumph capped off a solid World Championship performance for the Canadian squad who celebrated four medals. Earlier in the weekend, the Canadian squad of Ivanie Blondin, Valérie Maltais, and Isabelle Weidemann raced to bronze in the women’s team pursuit event.
On Thursday in the women’s team sprint final, Blondin, Brooklyn McDougall and Béatrice Lamarche skated a time of 1:27.23 for a silver medal, 1.66 seconds off of the gold medallists of Team Netherlands.
Team Canada also had a couple of near podium misses. Laurent Dubreuil was fourth in the men’s 500m test, while Weidemann was edged off the podium in the women’s 5000m event.
READ: Team Canada takes bronze in women’s team pursuit at world championships
Sunday marks the end of the ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Norway.
