By Dan Plouffe
Ivanie Blondin can’t remember how many World Cup medals she’s won in her career. With last season and the fall portion of this season alone, the number is already in double-digits. While each one is a major accomplishment on its own, losing track of the total count is about as big a prize as the Gloucester Concordes speed skating product could ask for.
“To me, winning medals consistently like this, it’s only ever been a dream of mine,” explains the 26-year-old from Orleans who won 4 medals in 4 World Cup meets in November and December – this despite getting knocked down by illness upon arrival for the circuit’s second stop in Japan.
“I knew I was a good speed skater, but I didn’t know to what extent,” Blondin adds. “It’s kind of surreal when I think about it. Like holy crap, I’m on the podium like every single weekend at the World Cup – not just nationally, but internationally. It’s pretty amazing.
“It’s a really good feeling, especially going into an Olympic season. I’m like, ‘Ya, let’s crush this, I want to come home with an Olympic medal.’”
Cumberland’s Vincent De Haitre is approaching double-digits in career senior national titles, but the 22-year-old’s most treasured medal is now from his first individual World Cup victory, which came in the men’s 1,000 metres on Dec. 3 in Kazakhstan.
“I was extremely happy after the race to get my first gold,” underlines the 2016 Ottawa Sports Awards male athlete of the year. “At the start of the year, I never thought, ‘Oh ya, I should be able to win a World Cup.’ It definitely wasn’t on my mind. My original goals for the season were to become a more consistent athlete. I did want to step up to the podium or the top-5, but it’s worked out pretty well. I’m far more consistent than I’ve ever been.”
De Haitre finished 2016 ranked 2nd overall in the 1,000 m, with two 6th-place finishes and one 7th along with the win. He says had trouble in the past when he’d follow up a good performance with a bad one, which he attributes in part to being a little too meticulous with his pre-race routine.
“Preparation is very important, but in some aspects, you need to know that some things aren’t always going to perfect, and you just have to roll with it,” De Haitre highlights. “This fall, I let himself hang out with people more, try to start more conversations, and be more open to being a little less uptight about my preparation.”
The third Concordes national team member, Isabelle Weidemann, has also continued her rise. The 21-year-old recently won two national titles and qualified for the Feb. 9-12 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships in South Korea, but she was nonetheless unsatisfied with her performances – a definite sign of her evolution.
While De Haitre and Blondin were winning gold in Kazakhstan, the second-year World Cup athlete laid down perhaps her finest international performance yet.
Weidemann skated a smooth, confident race and finished her final lap of the 3,000 m strong, ultimately placing 8th, just 1.05 seconds from the podium in a time of 4:06.73.
“Over every World Cup race, I’ve improved a lot. Not just physically, but learning how to compete. It’s very big process behind it,” Weidemann signals. “For me, it’s about improving the small things now. Racing tactically, and going in wanting to win. But it’s more than just wanting to win, it’s as an athlete going in and thinking you can, and not getting overwhelmed by what’s going on.”
Blondin simply calls it “maturity” and says that’s the reason her younger Gloucester counterparts are starting to excel internationally.
“It’s just experience over the years – getting to know their bodies, not psyching themselves out too much before races or in races,” outlines the winner of two mass start gold medals and a silver thus far this season.
Blondin, the leader of the Canadian women’s team, has applied some of that experience herself, and feels fresher than usual heading into the second part of the season.
“I think my body was getting too worn down in the past,” notes the winner of 11 consecutive speed skater-of-year honours from the Ottawa Sports Awards. “This time around, I took a little rest once I got back, I started training again doing more volume and a little less intensity.