(Obihiro) Quebecer Ivanie Blondin started the 2023-24 international season in great style by winning the gold medal in the mass start of the ISU Long Track Speed Skating World Cup held in Obihiro, Japan.
Blondin triumphed in a time of 8:25.11, ahead of the Dutch Esther Kiel and the American Mia Kilburg-Manganello after a sprint to the finish line.
“I was wondering a little bit how well I was going to be able to do because we hadn’t raced in a while, but the speed was there. I’m really happy with it,” analyzed Blondin in a Speed Skating Canada press release.
“Toward the end, I just went for it. I knew I was capable of getting a good result because of how my 1000 meters went earlier in the day,” added Blondin.
Her Quebec teammate Valérie Maltais narrowly missed the podium with a fourth place, in 8:26.05.
“The race still went well today. I’m happy with the way I raced. I made tactical errors, especially at the end,” admitted Maltais, who comes from La Baie.
“I realized during the race that I have more speed than last year. So it changes the way I launch my sprint. I think next week I might go about it a little differently. »
Blondin, who is from Ottawa, and Maltais helped the peloton of 22 skaters catch up with race leader Laura Lorenzato on the final lap.
This maneuver thus ended the Italian’s hopes of heading towards victory after she had broken away from the other competitors with four laps to go. Maltais launched the final sprint, but was overtaken by the three eventual medalists.
“From a strategy point of view,” Blondin said, “Valérie and I were looking to cover each other to ensure that there was no clear escape. I think it would have been great if both Canadians ended up on the podium at the end. Valerie finished fourth, so it came close to happening. »
This victory allowed Blondin to return to the podium after having had a very successful 2022-23 season. She then won the World Cup title and won the silver medal at the World Championships.
It is also the second career medal in the mass start at Obihiro for the 33-year-old skater, following her triumph in 2014.
It was also a successful return to the mass start for Sherbrooke’s Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu, who narrowly missed the podium during Friday’s race. The 31-year-old crossed the finish line in fourth place, posting a time of 7:46.22.
Canadian sprinters also took part in the 500 meters and 1000 meters events on the opening day of races in Japan, recording two results in the top 10.
Quebecer Laurent Dubreuil finished seventh in the men’s 500 meters with a time of 35.08, just 0.26 seconds from the podium.
Blondin also finished seventh, posting a time of 1:15.91 in the women’s 1,000 meters to finish just over a second behind gold medalist and reigning world champion Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands. Low (1:14.57).
The ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Obihiro continues on Saturday.