By Dan Plouffe
Ivanie Blondin has arrived.
Take this as proof of her status in the speed skating world: 23-year-old Ottawa native achieved a mammoth athletic feat in winning both the 3,000 and 5,000-metre races at the Canadian Fall World Cup Team Trials, but she was far from jumping for joy after her performance in Calgary.
“To me, it’s not that it’s not something special, but I’m really hard on myself, and I know I could have done even better than that,” explains Blondin, who finished the 3,000 in 4 minutes, 13 seconds and the 5,000 in 7:12.65. “First place is first place, but seeing those times, I felt like kicking myself in the head.”
Canadian athletes posted somewhat slow times across the board since the Olympic Oval ice was not at its fastest for the Oct. 17-20 trials, where two other Ottawa skaters also earned World Cup berths.
Blondin’s victories mean she will compete in each of the season’s first four World Cups – Nov. 8-10 in Calgary, Nov. 15-17 in Salt Lake City, Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in Kazakhstan (where the little-known possibility exists that she could clinch an Olympic berth before the Canadian Olympic trials if she wins an Olympic country quota position, likely possible with a top-10 5,000 m finish) and Dec. 6-8 in Germany. Blondin also further cemented her status as Canada’s #1 long-distance speed skater.
“Knowing that I’m first in Canada in the long distances is obviously an accomplishment,” signals the Gloucester Concordes athlete who is between 5-10 lbs. lighter than last season. “But I feel like I’ve kind of been here for long enough. It’s not really anything new to me. I guess that’s why I’m not overly excited about it.”
Sochi 2014, however, is a bit of a different story. With a pair of mass start silver medals and four World Cup medals (a gold, two silver and a bronze) in the team pursuit last season, Blondin’s prospects for an Olympic medal come February in Russia are very real.
“It’s kind of crazy,” describes the 5,000 m eighth-place finisher from last season’s world championships. “It gives me the chills when I think about it, really.”
Focused on short-track speed skating at the time, Blondin came very close to earning a Vancouver 2010 Olympic berth. She moved to Calgary shortly afterwards to focus on long-track and has now emerged as a world-class talent.
“Thinking about four years ago when I was in short-track, everything was so stressful. I knew I probably wouldn’t make the team,” recalls the athlete who competed in both short-track and long-track junior world championships. “This year I know I’m there. I know I have great potential to make this Olympic team. I’m not qualified yet, but I know that I can qualify myself. It’s a very cool feeling.
“To be able to represent my country at the Olympics has always been my dream. Once that happens, it’ll be a dream-come-true.”
Along with Christine Nesbitt, Brittany Schussler and Kali Christ, Blondin is poised to continue Canada’s history of success in the team pursuit discipline.
“It’s looking really good this year. There are four of us really strong girls,” notes Blondin, who was on easily on pace for a world championships silver medal last season before Nesbitt fell on the final corner. “We obviously want to do well and represent our country well.”