Dubreuil and Blondin claim silvers in World Cup finale

Two Canadians closed out the ISU World Cup of Speed Skating season with podium finishes on Sunday in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

Laurent Dubreuil crossed the line in 34.51 seconds to claim silver in the men’s 500m, while Ivanie Blondin came just 0.02 seconds from first place in the women’s mass start.

Dubreuil ends the season with his fourth silver medal finish in the 500m, and an overall silver in the distance rankings. American Jordan Stolz, who did not race on Sunday, finished atop the distance standings after winning seven gold medals on the season.

Dubreuil’s silver allowed him to leapfrog Japan’s Tatsuya Shinhama in the overall standings after Shinhama finished in eighth place on Sunday.

In the women’s mass start, it came down to a photo finish between Dutch skater Marijke Groenewoud and Canadian Ivanie Blondin. Groenewoud just barely managed to sneak her skate across the finish line before the Canadian to take gold in the final race of the year. Blondin finished with a time of eight minutes, and 27.54 seconds, just 0.02 seconds behind Groenewoud to claim silver.

The silver is tied for the best result for Blondin this season after she also claimed silver in Nagano, Japan in November. She finishes fourth in the mass start distant rankings this season.

With the World Cup competition now finished, the ISU speed skating season will conclude March 13-16 with the World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships in Hamar, Norway.