By Jamie Shinkewski
Ivanie Blondin better get used to standing on the international podium.
The 24-year-old from Ottawa finished the 2014 portion of the ISU World Cup Speed Skating calendar the same way she started: with a gold medal around her neck.
After nearly six weeks traveling the world with competitions in Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the Netherlands, the former Gloucester Concorde returned to Canada with medals from all four competitions – two gold, a silver, and a bronze from mass start races and another bronze from the 5,000 m.
The most surreal moment for Blondin was her bronze medal performance in the 5,000m race in Seoul. It was there she shared the podium with speed skating legends Claudia Pechstein and Martina Sablikova, owners of a combined 14 Olympic medals.
“Right before the podium, I went up to Sablikova and said, ‘it’s an honor to be on this podium right next to you,’” recounts Blondin, who’d just won her first individual World Cup medal in a discipline other than the mass start. “It’s insane. Oh my gosh, I’m among these top athletes now. It’s a great feeling.”
Owning a streak of eight consecutive years honored as the city’s top speed skater by the Ottawa Sports Awards – dating back to her roots as a short-tracker – Blondin has become the queen of the 16-lap mass start, ranked #1 in the world in the discipline that the International Skating Union would like to see added to the next Olympic program. But she’s also showed some snap in the shorter 1,000 m and 1,500 m events and is currently the World Cup circuit’s third-ranked athlete across all disciplines.
“This season I think I’ve proven to everyone I can be a somewhat decent sprinter,” highlights the Sochi 2014 14th and 24th-place finisher. “I couldn’t be happier right now. I always knew I was strong and I knew I had great time, but to be on the podium so many times it’s far more than I ever expected from myself.”
De Haitre shines, struggles
Vincent De Haitre started off his World Cup with a major bang, recording a fourth-place finish in the 1,000 m race in Obihiro, Japan.
“It started off very well,” says the fellow former Concorde. “I met most of my expectations I wanted to meet for the season, so I’m glad I could meet them at the start so that I can set new ones.”
The rest of De Haitre’s results were a little more in line with what would be expected from the youngest member of the Canadian World Cup team by four years. The 20-year-old placed 19th, 15th, and 13th to rank 12th overall in his preferred 1,000 m discipline and registered one top-10 out of 8 races in the ‘B’ division of the 500 m and 1,500 m.
“I was a little more stressed than I anticipated and it reflected poorly on my performance,” De Haitre recounts. “I think it’s a learning experience right now. And I’m looking forward to being able to put together everything I’ve learned in a good race.”
Former Ottawa Pacer Lauren McGuire’s top finish was a seventh-place performance in the team pursuit and 14th in the 1,500 m ‘B’ division individually.
All three skaters and several others with local roots competed in the Jan. 2-5 Canadian Single Distance Championships in Calgary in an attempt to secure international racing positions for Canada in the second half of the season.
Blondin maintained her position as Canada’s top female speed skater by finishing second in the 1,500 and winning the 3,000 on the opening days of nationals.
“It’s really nice to be home and settle down to my normal routine,” indicates Blondin, who’s expected to head to a Norway World Cup Jan. 31-Feb. 1, a World Cup Feb. 7-8 and the Feb. 12-15 World Single Distance Championships in the Netherlands, the March 7-8 World Allround Championships in Calgary and the World Cup Final March 21-22 in Germany. “I’m going to cherish these last moments at home before I leave again for the World Cup because being on the road for so long, it can be really draining.”