Valérie Maltais and Laurent Dubreuil were both awarded medals on Saturday at the Long Track Speed Skating World Cup in Salt Lake City. The former won gold in the team pursuit with Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann, while Dubreuil fought her way to the second step of the podium in the 500m.
The day after her bronze medal in the 3000m, Valérie Maltais did not take much time before returning to the podium. The trio she formed with Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann was dominant in the team pursuit. He posted a time of 2:54.07 and had a lead of 1.44 seconds over the silver medalists of Japan. The Americans finished third (+3.59 seconds).
“It’s a really good time to have such a result with the World Championships coming up very quickly. It was fun to pursue the Four Continents Championships and be back a week later! We had better execution, but we still have things to improve,” Valérie Maltais told Sportcom.
At the start of the season, the Canadians won the silver medal in Obihiro, Japan.
Several weeks later passed before the three Olympic champions were reunited.
In fact, on Saturday, Weidemann made his return to the World Cup after choosing not to participate in those played in Europe this fall. In her absence, it was Quebecer Béatrice Lamarche who replaced her and who helped the maple leaf win silver in Poland.
“It puts us back on track and it’s a good result, but clearly, we’re not in our best form at the moment. It proves that we are a strong team and that we work well together despite everything. We can be optimistic that we will be able to do well at the world championships,” Maltais said.
Earlier, she lowered her personal best in the 1500m to place tenth.
She stopped the clock at 1:54.08, 2.48 seconds behind the gold medalist, Miho Takagi of Japan. The Dutch Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong (+0.44 seconds) and Joy Beune (+0.63 seconds) accompanied her on the podium.
“I’ve wanted to improve my personal mark in the 1500m for a long time! To do it for more than a second feels good. I managed to do well technically what I wanted to work on. »
Miho Takagi of Japan won gold in 1:51.6 ahead of the Netherlands’ Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong (+0.44 seconds) and Joy Beune (+0.63 seconds).
Valérie Maltais will conclude her weekend by taking part in the mass start on Sunday.
“The form and my technique have returned”
PHOTO CHRISTOPHER CREVELING, USA TODAY SPORTS
Laurent Dubreuil
It was then Laurent Dubreuil’s turn to stand out on the Olympic oval in Salt Lake City. He skated in the final pair of the men’s 500m, minutes after seeing American and reigning world champion Jordan Stolz clock 33.96s.
Dubreuil covered the distance in 34.05 seconds to finish second and the Japanese Yuma Murakami earned bronze (+0.20 seconds).
“The form and my technique have returned,” underlined Laurent Dubreuil from the outset, referring to his more difficult start to the campaign than usual.
“I feel in control of my skate and powerful on the ice. I feel like I felt in the last seasons. »
The Lévisien had already received three medals over 500 meters since the start of the World Cup calendar, one gold and two silver. He also won gold in 34.19 s last week at the Four Continents Championships which also took place in Salt Lake City.
Dubreuil experienced some difficulties this fall and temporarily looked for his bearings. Everything seems to be back to normal, according to his adjustments and his most recent results.
“That’s what I like about my season. Last year, I was starting to run out of legs a bit after the holidays and I had the goal of not reaching my peak too early this time. To finish strong after difficult times is motivating! It’s rewarding to identify problems and successfully correct them. »
Jordan Stolz is having a dream weekend in Utah, in front of his fans. The American was crowned winner in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m.
“Things are going well!” It’s not easy to have an explosive start in the 500m after winning a 1500m, but if there is anyone who is capable of it, it’s him, shared Dubreuil. He is a fierce competitor. I’m skating against one of the best of all time, perhaps the best to come in the history of our sport. I will be able to say one day that I skated against him. It’s like saying you played golf against Tiger Woods! »
Also in action, Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu skated the 1500 m in 1 min 44.5 s on Saturday and ranked 15e. The Chinese Ning Zhongyan (+0.91 seconds) and the Dutchman Wesly Dijs (+1.90 seconds) followed Jordan Stolz on the podium.
Rose Laliberté-Roy concluded at 15e rank in group B in the 500 m, while Cédrick Brunet finished 12e of the men’s group B over the same distance.