Canadian speedskater Ivanie Blondin races to World Cup bronze

By Canadian Press on December 6, 2025.

HEERENVEEN — Canadian speedskater Ivanie Blondin raced to World Cup bronze in the women’s 1,500-metre Saturday, reaching the podium in the distance for the first time since 2020.

Skating in the sixth pair alongside Angel Daleman, Blondin crossed the finish line in one minute 53.43 seconds to place behind Dutch skaters Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong (1:53.36) and Joy Beune (1:53.10), who skated to gold and silver before a hometown crowd.

“I’m really happy about it, but I was not expecting it,” Blondin said. “The field is so close and that’s what makes it so exciting. There are definitely advantages based on the way that you skate. For me, it’s an advantage if I have a good pair. Angel was so fast off the start, and I had to chase her for the entire race, until the last half-lap when I pulled ahead of her.”

Blondin, who won gold in team pursuit and silver in mass start at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, moved into sixth overall in the 1,500 standings.

The 35-year-old from Ottawa last placed in the 1,500 top three during the 2019-20 season.

“I’m honestly surprised. Surprised but at the same time, with what I’ve been able to do in training up to this point, I think this result makes sense,” she said. “I always tend to perform better on slower ice — I struggle when the ice is fast. But it’s surprising because yesterday I really didn’t feel like myself in my 5000. My legs got really sore and I was hesitant on the lap time.

“Confidence wise, when you look at my results so far this season, my confidence is obviously not there. But I do think that’s what brought the fight out in me today. Today, I just fought a little harder and controlled what I could control, and it gave me this result.”

Elsewhere, Dutch-Canadian skater Ted-Jan Bloemen, who represents Canada, finished seventh in the men’s 10,000.

Competition in Heerenveen concludes Sunday with the men’s and women’s 500, mass start and team sprint.