Long track | Laurent Dubreuil left off the podium in the 500m

Medal hopes were high for Laurent Dubreuil, reigning world champion in long track speed skating over 500 meters. Unfortunately, the 29-year-old was unable to earn a place on the podium and finished in fourth place.

Dubreuil was the man to beat over the distance. In addition to having won the title of world champion in the Netherlands in February 2021, he is the first in the World Cup standings. He was on the podium in each of the eight 500m World Cup races this season.

The skater from Lévis was in his second Olympic experience and he was part of the last duo to start. The task was no small one for Dubreuil. In the seventh wave, China’s Gao Tingyu broke the Olympic record by crossing the finish line with a time of 34.32.

The Quebecer could compete with this time, but a false start may have shaken him up a bit. Once the start was given, Dubreuil was explosive, but lost the pace a bit in the middle of the course. So much so that he completed the 500 meters in 34.52 seconds, insufficient to win the race and to get on the podium. He finished three hundredths of a second behind Japan’s Wataru Morishige, who won the bronze medal.

“I won’t lie, I’m extremely disappointed. I came here to win a medal, it’s a tough day for me in the office today. I did my best and it was the details that made the difference. I think being fourth in the world isn’t so bad though,” explained Dubreuil after the race.

Gao Tingyo, 17^and in the World Cup standings won the gold medal. Cha Min Kuy, at 11^and world rank, offers a silver medal to South Korea. Then Morishige, second behind Dubreuil in the world rankings, closes the podium.

Dubreuil had taken the 18^and rank in the same event four years ago, at the PyeongChang Games. He will have another chance to come home with an Olympic medal, as he is scheduled to compete in the 1,000m event on Friday. The Quebec skater is sixth in the World Cup standings and won the bronze medal at the last Worlds.

Two other Canadians took part in the competition. Gilmore Junior took the 21^and rank with a time of 35,162. Quebecer Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu, who was in the first duo to start, finished 29^and with a time of 35.84.

Canadian women qualified in pursuit

Before the presentation of the 500m event, the quarter-finals of the women’s pursuit in long track speed skating took place.

The Canadians, first in the World Cup standings, did not disappoint finishing second, just behind the Japanese, their great rivals.

Valérie Maltais, Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann, double medalists at these Games, will be in the semi-finals on Tuesday.