After an Olympic gold medal, go where no team has gone before, drive Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin and Valerie Maltais.
The trio won women’s team pursuit gold in Beijing in February after four years of making the event a priority in their training.
Canadian women have a strong history in the six-lap race, which features two teams of three racing both the clock and each other, but Ottawa’s Weidemann and Blondin and Maltais of La Baie, Que., are Canada’s first Olympic champions in it.
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Decorated Canadian speed skater Isabelle Weidemann is setting her sights back on the Beijing Olympics
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Decorated Canadian speed skater Isabelle Weidemann is setting her sights back on the Beijing Olympics
Reclaiming a world record for Canada is the next carrot the trio will chase.
“We always had our eyes on the world record,” Weidemann told The Canadian Press. “We want to put our names in that record book. If it’s not in the cards for us, at least we’re going to finish this team hunt, this legacy, just to try to do it.”
They will take part in the team pursuit in the first of the rugby world cups at the Olympic Oval on Saturday in Calgary.
Racing begins Friday and ends Sunday, followed December 16-18 by another three-day World Cup at the oval.
“The only thing we haven’t accomplished as a team is that world record,” Blondin said. “This is definitely a goal of ours. It would definitely be cool to do it on home ice.”
The current record is two minutes 50.76 seconds set by Japan’s Ayano Sato, Miho Tagaki and Nana Tagaki in Salt Lake City in 2020.
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Weidemann, Blondin and Maltais beat that trio for gold in Beijing – Nana Tagaki fell on the final lap – in an Olympic record time of 2:53.44.
The Japanese have held and lowered the world record since 2017, when they broke the eight-year-old mark of 2.55.79 set by Canada’s Kristina Groves, Brittany Schussler and Christine Nesbitt in 2009.
While both Calgary and Salt Lake vie for the title of fastest ice in the world due to dryness and altitude, many elements must align to set a new world record, including air pressure inside the building that can be determined by the weather outside, said Blond.
“There’s less turbulence when the air pressure is really low, and it just goes that much faster,” she said.
Staying atop the podium this season amid ongoing challenges from Japan and the Netherlands will test the Canadian.
Weidemann, Blondin and Maltais opened the season with a win in Stavanger, Norway.
“We always raced with the idea that we are not number one, we are always going to be beaten,” Weidemann said. “I like that kind of idea in the team. When we go to the line, we’re like ‘we can be beaten today.’ That’s always a possibility in long track speed skating.”
It is unusual for Calgary to host a pair of Speed Skating World Cups in a single season, although Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland will do the same in February.
“I think part of it is the ISU’s mission to manage travel budgets and travel costs for many countries,” said Speedskating Canada long track high performance director Mark Wild.
“When you’re traveling to multiple World Cups throughout the season, it’s pretty hard on the budget, especially with the cost of airline travel now.”
Blondin, an Olympic silver medalist in women’s mass start, races the event both weekends in Calgary.
Weidemann will compete in the 3,000 meters on Friday after taking Olympic bronze in it, followed by next week’s 5k in which she won silver in Beijing.
World champion sprinter Laurent Dubreuil of Laval, Que., races the men’s 500 and 1,000 meters on rugby weekends.
The 30-year-old won last season’s World Cup crown in the 500 and is back at the top of the standings after two races this season. Dubreuil also won a 1,000 meters silver medal in Beijing.
Connor Howe of Canmore, Alta., leads this season’s men’s 1,500 meters after a win and a runner-up finish.
Ted-Jan Bloemen of Calgary, the 2018 Olympic champion in the 10,000 meters and silver medalist in the 5k, begins his World Cup season in Calgary.
He put the first two stops for the birth of his son.
As the host country, Canada can ice a full quota of skaters with up to five entries in some distances.
“The opportunity to maximize our team size is really beneficial for us,” Wild said. “We aim for podium performances for our athletes.”
© 2022 The Canadian Press
