(Calgary) Valérie Maltais had all the miseries in the world to pass a gold medal around the cowboy hat given to the skaters on the podium.
“Oh no, you haven’t seen that! She apologized, laughing in front of the journalists.
She would have done better to take it off, but it created a funny moment that earned her teasing from her teammates Isabelle Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin.
The Canadian trio continued their dominance in the team pursuit this season by winning gold at the World Cup in Calgary on Saturday afternoon.
Challenged by the Japanese in the previous wave, the Canadians responded with a national record of 2:52:06 to beat their rivals by 83 hundredths. Far behind, the Chinese completed the podium.
Maltais, Weidemann and Blondin improved their mark set last week in Salt Lake City by three tenths. The Japanese had fallen by then. In the first continuation of the season, in Poland, the Japanese roster had been affected by an outbreak of COVID-19.
Saturday’s victory, a third in a row, had a special flavor for the Canadians, crowned for the third time in a row in the World Cup standings.
“It’s definitely the most satisfying victory,” said Maltais. We had seen the Japanese women skate and we wanted to beat them on a regular basis. We skated glued, we stayed really close to each other. We kept it simple. Yes, we want to beat the Japanese, but we have to focus on us. ”
Beaten by a few hundredths by the Dutch at the last World Championships, where they were favorites, Maltese, Weidemann and Blondin wish to continue their progress for the Beijing Olympics.
“At the Worlds, we felt the pressure. We wanted to win so badly that we forgot little details. We really learned from that experience. ”
The composition of the Canadian trio for the Olympic Games will be the subject of a discretionary choice by Speed Skating Canada. As well say that the question is settled for the three skaters, the only ones to line up in this event for three years.
Individually, Weidemann and Blondin have already guaranteed their long distance ticket. Maltais will have to earn third place in the 3000m at the Quebec selections at the end of the month. She finished sixth in that event on Friday, a personal high. She occupies the ninth position of the cumulative classification, against the first for Weidemann and the seventh for Blondin.
In the 1000m on Saturday, Maltais took the 18e rank. This result is not enough to allow him to rank among the top 20 in the Olympic rankings. Canada will therefore be limited to a single starter in this event in Beijing.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do in the 1000m,” said the native Saguenéen, who now lives in Calgary. I’ll talk to my trainer about it. I am able to perform in the 1000m, but will I end up in the top of the world to win a medal? I do not think so. ”
At 31, Maltais should therefore line up for his fourth Olympic Games in Beijing. She has competed in the short track four times, winning silver in the relay in 2014.
In the 1,500m, Connor Howe captured silver, his first World Cup medal. Leader on the last lap, the Canmore athlete finally gave gold to American Joey Mantia. Third in the distance standings, the 21-year-old athlete secured his place for his first Olympic participation.