Weekend Roundup: Historic weekend for speed skaters and mogul skiers
From the ice to the snow, the winter World Cup season has kicked into full swing, with many podium performances by Canadian athletes this past weekend.
Speed skaters, bobsledders and cyclers all captured international hardware while Mikaël Kingsbury proved once again he is the most dominant male moguls skier in history.
In case you missed the action, let’s take a look at what happened:
Speed Skating – Long Track
READ: Speed skating: Canada wins gold and two bronze medals at World Cup in Nur-Sultan
READ: Speed Skating: Graeme Fish wins first individual World Cup medal of long track career
READ: Speed Skating: Blondin captures two more gold and track record at World Cup
Team Canada was on fire at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, collecting a total of six medals over the weekend.
Ivanie Blondin won three gold medals and became the first Canadian and the eighth women ever to win a 1500m, 3000m and 5000m race in a World Cup. She claimed victory in the 5000m event on Friday, followed by gold in the 5000m on Sunday. Her third gold of the weekend came when Blondin teamed up with Isabelle Weidemann, Valerie Maltais and Béatrice Lamarche in the team pursuit. Weidemann also landed on the podium in the women’s 5000m with bronze.
On the men’s side, Ted-Jan Bloemen, Jordan Belchos, Graeme Fish and Tyson Langelaar skated to silver for Canada in the men’s team pursuit. On Saturday, Fish won his first-ever individual World Cup medal, collecting bronze in the 10,000m final. Alex Boisvert-Lacroix also reached the podium, winning bronze in the 500m.
Speed Skating – Short Track
READ: Short Track: Boutin remains undefeated in the 500m this season
READ: Short Track: Canadian women’s relay team win gold in Shanghai
At the Shanghai World Cup, the women’s relay team, of Alyson Charles, Courtney Sarault, Danaé Blais and Kim Boutin, won the gold medal for the first time since the 2014-15 season. This is the fourth medal of the season for the women’s relay team, but their first victory.
Boutin continued her gold medal streak in the 500m after winning her fourth gold medal of the season in this event. Boutin went on to capture her first bronze medal of the season in the 1000m. She has won a medal in all eight of her individual distance races this season, bringing her individual race count to six gold, one silver, and one bronze.
Courtney Sarault also landed on the podium, earning her third individual medal of the season, a bronze in the 1500m. On the men’s side, Steven Dubois captured the bronze medal in the 500m (2). This is the first career medal in the 500m for Dubois.
Freestyle Skiing – Moguls
READ: Kingsbury wins gold at his 100th career World Cup
Kingsbury kicked off the first World Cup of the moguls season in Ruka, Finland with gold in men’s moguls.
This medal marks Kingsbury’s 57th victory and 82nd podium finish at his 100th World Cup appearance. He took the lead in the final after an impressive run to lock in a score of 90.80 points and claim the gold medal.
Freestyle Skiing – Ski Cross
READ: Ski Cross: Canada claims three medals for season opener in Val Thorens
READ: Ski Cross: Canada wins two more medals at World Cup in Val Thorens
Canada’s ski cross athletes captured five medals over the weekend at the World Cup in Val Thorens, France.
Kris Mahler, returning from injury, led for the entire final run to achieve his first World Cup podium and victory in the men’s race on Saturday. On Friday Kevin Drury won gold during the men’s race.
On the women’s side, Courtney Hoffos finished third on the women’s podium on Saturday, winning her second medal of the weekend, adding to her silver medal from Friday. India Sherret finished just behind Hoffos on Friday, claiming the bronze.
Bobsleigh
Justin Kripps piloted back-to-back bronze medals with Ben Coakwell, then Cam Stones at the first World Cup of the season in Lake Placid, New York. The Olympic champion, who was third in Saturday’s two-man race with Coakwell, reunited with Stones, his medal-winning partner at the 2019 World Championships, to post a two-run time of 1:50.34.
On Saturday, Kripps and Coakwell put down the second-fastest time in the final heat to secure the bronze with a two-run time of 1:50.43.
Rugby Sevens
The women’s rugby sevens team took home silver after falling 17-14 to New Zealand in a hard-fought gold medal final at the World Rugby Sevens Series in Dubai on Saturday. Canadian tries were scored by Karen Paquin and Julia Greenshields, while captain Ghislaine Landry converted on both. The women have already qualified for Tokyo 2020 and are the defending Olympic bronze medallists.
Track Cycling
READ: Track Cycling: Canadian women win team pursuit bronze at World Cup in Cambridge
READ: Track Cycling: Canadian women win two more medals at Cambridge World Cup
At the four stop of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Cambridge, New Zealand, Canada captured a total of four medals. Lauriane Genest cycled to silver in the Keirin to earn her first World Cup medal. Allison Beveridge captured bronze in the Omnium with a total of 111 points. It was her second medal of the weekend, after Friday’s team pursuit bronze alongside teammates Jasmin Duehring, Georgia Simmerling, and Annie Foreman-Mackey. Kelsey Mitchell also leaves Cambridge with a silver medal in the sprint, her second medal at a World Cup to date.
Tennis
The winners of the WTA Awards were announced Monday morning. Gaby Dabrowski won the Peachy Kellmeyer Player Service Award for the work she has done to support other WTA players and the initiatives on behalf of the WTA.
