Quebecer Valérie Maltais ended her weekend in style in Salt Lake City on Sunday. During the last day of competition for this World Cup stop, the Quebecer won her third medal of the weekend. This time, Maltais won bronze in the mass start.
“Even though it was a third day of competition in a row, I still felt good,” Maltais said. It’s a pleasant distance. It’s a little less stressful than other individual distances. I was able to go for a walk this morning, since it’s a little later in the day. »
Thus, Maltais had his best haul of medals in a single World Cup weekend, both in long track and short track. “If I had one thing to take away from this weekend, it would be to believe in the process,” said the 33-year-old athlete by videoconference on Sunday evening. We are building for the World Championships. Last week was the Four Continents Championships. There it was the World Cup in Salt Lake City. »
With his third place, Maltais is at the top of the general mass start rankings this season.
However, she says she has difficulty staying focused on the present moment, despite her recent successes. “I am very aware that my season is going well, so we are always on a positive note,” she explained. However, I am very much in the process towards the World Championships. My years of experience also help me stay in the present moment. »
Ivanie Blondin won the event, with a time of 8:14.70. The Ontarian beat Maltais by 44 hundredths of a second. Dutchwoman Irene Schouten took second place.
On Friday, Maltais earned his first World Cup medal in an individual distance, taking bronze in the 3000m.
Among the men, Canadian Ted-Jan Bloemen won bronze in the 5000m. He completed the event in 6:06.88, 3.90 seconds more than the winner, the Dutchman Patrick Roest. The Italian Davide Ghiotto completed the podium.