L
ouie VillanuCanada wins big at speed skating World Cup
By Emilie Medland-Marchen, November 17, 2015 —
Canada’s long
track speed skating team made a stellar international debut this past
weekend at the first portion of the International Skating Union World
Cup Championships. The Olympic Oval hosted the event, defending its
title of the fastest ice in the world amidst a weekend of new records. A
Canadian record in the 5000 metre, podium finishes in the men’s 500
metre and team events, as well as a bronze medal in the mass start were
just a sliver of the success that defined the weekend for Team Canada.
But Canada’s greatest success came in the
500 metre, where sprinter William Dutton finished with a bronze in the
first portion of the race and silver in the second, marking his
triumphant return to long track speed skating.
This is Dutton’s first year back in the sport after his
brief retirement following the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. Two years
ago, he placed 14th in the overall men’s 500 metre in Russia. His
placement in the top three this weekend marked a considerable leap
forward in international rankings, along with his first World Cup
medals.
The skill of Team Canada’s sprint team
was on display this weekend, as four Canadian men’s skaters placed in
the top six during the 500-metre event. In the women’s events, Canada’s
Heather McLean and Marsha Hudey also had competitive placements, with
times just under two seconds shy of the top sprint position.
It marks an exciting return for Canadian
long track sprinting since the glory days of Catriona Le May Doan and
Jeremy Wotherspoon. Although Wotherspoon’s world record was defeated
this weekend by Russia’s Pavel Kulizhnikov, the Canadian men’s times
were all within half a second of the top spot.
Canada has always been strong in speed
skating team events, and they defended their legacy this past weekend.
Denny Morrison’s position on the men’s team was filled by newcomer Ben
Donnelly, skating in his first ever World Cup event.
The show went on without three-time
Olympic medalist Morrison, who is still in rehabilitation after
sustaining an injury in a major motorcycle accident this summer.
In a performance that shocked the venue,
the men’s team ended up placing first in the event, taking home a gold
medal with a time of 3.39,32 minutes. It was an outstanding performance
for the 19-year-old Donnelly, as well as teammates Ted-Jan Bloemen and
Jordan Belchos.
The success continued in the women’s
event, with Canada pulling another bronze medal in the team sprint.
Sprinters Heather McLean, Marsha Hudey and Noemie Fiset raced to a third
place finish with a time of 1.28,39 minutes.
Bloemen also skated to a new Canadian
record in the men’s 5,000-metre event on Friday, securing another bronze
medal. The record had previously been held by Arne Dankers whose time
of 6.14,01 hasn’t been touched since 2005. Bloemen skated a time of
6.12,72.
Canada’s mass start World Cup Champion
Ivanie Blondin rounded out the success of the weekend with a bronze
medal in the mass start competition. The mass start is an event new to
long track speed skating. It will debut on the Winter Olympic stage at
Pyeongchang in 2018.
Other stories of the weekend included two new world records set in the women’s events by the USA’s
Heather Richardson and Brittany Bowe. Richardson’s 1,000-metre skate on
Saturday set a new world record of 1.12,51 minutes, followed closely by
Bowe. On Sunday, Bowe skated to an impressive 1.51,59 minutes, just
clipping the previous record of 1.51,79 which has been held since 2005.
After skating the record, Bowe referenced the success of her Canadian predecessor.
“To claim that world record is such an honour,” she said after the race. “Cindy Klassen — she’s a legend.”
The World Cup circuit will continue in Salt Lake City,
Utah from November 20–22. Afterwards, Team Canada will send its athletes
to Europe, where they will compete for top world titles before
returning to the Oval later this winter.
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