HEERENVEEN, NETHERLANDS, Feb 13: Laurent Dubreuil of Canada competes in the Men's 1000m during the ISU World Speed Skating Championships at Thialf on February 13, 2021 in Heerenveen, Netherlands. (Photo by Rafal Oleksiewicz/Speed Skating Canada)Photo by Rafal Oleksiewicz/Speed Skating Canada
Photo by Rafal Oleksiewicz/Speed Skating Canada

Long Track: Three silvers for Team Canada during final day of ISU World Cup in Poland

On the final day of the ISU World Cup in Poland, Team Canada raced their way to three silver medals including the Men’s 500-metre with Laurent Dubreuil, the Women’s Mass Start courtesy of Ivanie Blondin, and the Men’s Team Pursuit.

Dubreuil opened the action on Sunday with a time of 34.734 seconds in the 500m event for his second medal of the weekend. The 29-year-old from Lévis, Que. split Japan’s double podium where Tatsuya Shinhama received gold (34.699s) and Wataru Morishige won bronze (34.746s). No stranger to the 500m distance, Dubreuil secured bronze in the first event on Friday with a time of 34.687 seconds.

READ: Long Track: Canadians claim three medals on first day of World Cup season opener

In the Women’s Mass Start Final, Ivanie Blondin found her place within the group and took silver, also for her second medal of the series. With a time of 8:25.490s, Blondin lead Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida (8:25.650s) across the finish line. Netherland’s Irene Schouten captured gold at 8:25.490s.

This marks Blondin’s second medal of the series as she was a part of winning Team Pursuit gold on Saturday alongside Isabelle Weidemann and Valérie Maltais.

READ: Long Track: Canadian women capture team pursuit gold at World Cup in Poland

To close out the series, Ted-Jan Bloemen, Jordan Belchos, and Connor Howe are celebrating their own silver medal from the Men’s Team Pursuit with a time of 3:45.763s. The Netherlands secured the podium at 3:44.567s and Japan received bronze at 3:45.817s. This is Bloemen’s second silver of the weekend as he reached the 5000m podium on Friday.

Overall, Team Canada finished the weekend with one gold, five silver, and 1 bronze for the season opener. Next, they will visit Stavanger, Norway on November 19-21 for the second stop on the World Cup circuit.

Canadian athletes can pre-qualify for nomination to the 2022 Olympic Team if they achieve a top-eight World Cup ranking in an individual distance following the first four events of the season in mid-December.

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