Good as gold for Ottawa's Blondin, Weidemann in World Cup speed skating event
![FILE: Ivanie Blondin in 2018.](https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/ottawasun/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/916542078.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&h=216&sig=l7ifOXEMHgeo5NIN63QIhg)
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It was a golden moment for two Ottawa speed skaters – Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann Sunday.
Blondin continued her winning weekend at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Sunday, capturing two gold medals – with an individual victory in the 1500m and a group effort alongside Weidemann and Valerie Maltais in the Team Pursuit.
Blondin’s time of 1:55.599 in the 1500m set a new track record for the Alau Ice Palace, breaking a mark set by Canadian Christine Nesbitt in 2011. Saturday, Blondin won gold in the 5000m. The last time a skater won both distances in a single competition was 11 years ago. Blondin’s previous best World Cup result in the 1500m was sixth during the 2017-18 season.
Later in the day, Blondin teamed up with Weidemann and Maltais to capture gold in the Team Pursuit. Their time of 3:00.246 was just a tenth of a second faster than the Netherlands team. The Canadian long track team heads to Nagano, Japan for the next stop on the World Cup circuit – Dec. 13-15.
“It’s been a pretty phenomenal weekend,” said Blondin. “I couldn’t be happier. I knew that we would achieve the first step of the podium in Team Pursuit this year, but the gold medal was a perfect way to cap off this weekend. I’m already excited for next week’s races.”
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