HAMAR, Norway — Denny Morrison reached a milestone with his 40th individual World Cup long-track speedskating medal on Sunday, while fellow Canadian Ivanie Blondin captured her sixth medal of the season.
Morrison earned his first trip to the podium this season with a bronze in the men's 1,500 metres, while Blondin took silver in the women's mass start.
Blondin, from Ottawa, finished in eight minutes 47.51 seconds and was edged at the finish line by Irene Schouten of the Netherlands by 0.04 seconds. Schouten's teammate Mariska Huisman finished third.
Blondin now has five mass start medals this season, including two gold.
Earlier Sunday, Blondin was disqualified in the 3,000 metres after she stumbled and kicked a block separating the two lanes. It cost Canada a quota spot in the women's event at the World Allround Speed Skating Championships in Calgary, set for March 7-8.
"Today's mass start was definitely a struggle after being disqualified in the 3,000m," said Blondin. "I'm pleased with the silver in the mass start. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the support of my teammate Kali Christ, who is most affected by my disqualification for a quota spot in the World Allround Championships. This has made me realize how strong our team is, and how powerful teamwork can really be."
Christ, from Regina, was 13th in the mass start.
Morrison's time of 1:46.03 seconds was one hundredth of a second away from his best time of the season. Denis Yuskov of Russia won gold in Sunday's race (1:45.07) while Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands took the silver (1:45.80).
It was Morrison's first medal of the 2014-15 World Cup season, after a pair of fourth-place finishes at previous events.
"I've been feeling pretty good all week and especially after a good 5k Saturday," Morrison said. "I had a bit of confidence heading into the 1,500 and I was able to execute my race plan, which allowed me to skate as well here as I did on the faster ice in Calgary (in January). I'm looking forward to going even faster in the coming weeks."
This World Cup stop was the final qualifying chance for the World Allround Speed Skating Championships. Canada earned two quota spots for the men and one for the women.
Morrison and Blondin had already pre-qualified for the championships, and a second men's quota spot was awarded to Ted-Jan Bloemen of Calgary.
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Soaps
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99
Babe Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html
No comments:
Post a Comment