Canadian speed skater Ivanie Blondin clinched a World Cup bronze in the women’s 1,500-meter event on Saturday, marking her first podium finish in this distance since 2020. Competing alongside Angel Daleman in the sixth pair, Blondin completed the race in 1 minute and 53.43 seconds, securing third place behind Dutch skaters Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong (1:53.36) and Joy Beune (1:53.10), who claimed gold and silver in front of a local crowd in Heerenveen.
Expressing her delight, Blondin mentioned, “I’m really pleased with the outcome, although I didn’t anticipate it. The competition is tight, which adds to the excitement. Your performance can be influenced by various factors, including your skating partner. In my case, skating alongside Angel, who had a strong start, pushed me throughout the race until I managed to overtake her in the final stretch.”
Blondin, a gold medalist in team pursuit and silver medalist in mass start at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, climbed to sixth place in the overall 1,500 standings. The 35-year-old athlete from Ottawa had last secured a top-three finish in the 1,500-meter event during the 2019-2020 season.
Reflecting on her performance, Blondin expressed, “I’m genuinely surprised yet, considering my training progress, this achievement feels justified. I tend to perform better on slower ice conditions, struggling more on faster surfaces. Despite feeling off in my 5000-meter race yesterday, experiencing sore legs and uncertainty about lap times, I managed to channel my fighting spirit today. Despite lacking confidence from earlier results this season, I pushed harder, focusing on what I could control, and it paid off.”
In other events, Dutch-Canadian skater Ted-Jan Bloemen, representing Canada, secured seventh place in the men’s 10,000 meters. The competition in Heerenveen will wrap up on Sunday with the men’s and women’s 500 meters, mass start, and team sprint.
Live coverage of the event in Heerenveen is available on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. More information on the streaming schedule can be found on the official website.