Ivanie Blondin built for mass start event
Diminutive speed skater brings short track skills to long track
At five feet, two inches, Ivanie Blondin has always questioned whether she's tall enough for long track speed skating, a sport that favours taller, leaner athletes.
The Canadian's compact frame was well suited to her former life as a short track speed skater, where she excelled in the junior ranks. But now that the long track schedule features the physical, fan-friendly mass start event, Blondin can use her short track body — and skills — to her advantage.
The mass start was introduced to the long track World Cup circuit during the 2011-2012 season. The event consists of 16 laps around a 500-metre oval. All skaters start simultaneously and must skate the first lap together before jockeying for a better position. The race also includes four sprints that allow skaters to earn points that are counted toward their ranking in the final result.
Picture a shorter version of a running marathon, but with more jostling.
That suits Blondin just fine.
"Putting your elbows out and being able to lean on people and push people away [just as in short track] — I think that has really helped me," Blondin, the 2014-15 World Cup champion in the mass start, told CBC Sports.
'I love a battle'
Blondin made the switch from short track to long track in 2009 at the age of 20, after failing to make the team for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. With her capabilities in both disciplines, the mass start has given her an ideal stage for her exceptional skills.
"The mass start is such a tactical, mental game," she says. "I love a battle. I've always been fierce, and I'm not scared of much, and I think going into a mass start race I'm always excited to see who's going to try to push me around so that I can push them back."
Other short track speed skaters have also made the transition from long track, including Olympic medallists Jessica Gregg of Edmonton and Olivier Jean of Lachenaie, Que.
Jean feels at home in both events.
"I call myself a speed skater — long track, short track, inline," said Jean, who transitioned in the fall. "Skate fast, win races. It's the same job."
Blondin is off to a good start this season, picking up a bronze and a silver medal in the first two World Cups, in Calgary and Salt Lake City.
She'll be looking to reach the podium again at this weekend's stop in Inzell, Germany, and next week in Heerenveen, Netherlands.