Ivanie Blondin adds to medal haul with mass start gold
Canadian speed skater has reached podium 4 times this season, leads World Cup standings
Ottawa's Ivanie Blondin continued a strong start to the 2016-17 season as she picked up her second mass start victory in World Cup speed skating in Astana, Kazakhstan on Sunday.
Japan's Nana Takagi finished second, while Bo-Reum Kim of Korea was third.
"It was a fast-paced race, there was a lot of bumping going on but I felt comfortable out there. I felt ready, I felt happy and excited to be out on the ice," said Blondin.
Blondin, 26, also won gold in the mass start in the season opener in China in November, along with a bronze medal in the 3000-metre.
Blondin overcame a virus to earn a silver in the mass start in Nagano, Japan on Nov. 20.
The 2014 Olympian now leads the 2016-17 World Cup standings with 280 points. Kim is second with 240 and Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida is third with 190.
Jordan Belchos of Toronto was eliminated at the semifinal stage of the men's mass start, where he finished 10th. Only the top eight skaters qualified for the final.
In other Canadian results, Heather McLean of Winnipeg was seventh in the women's 500 metres while Laurent Dubreuil of Levis, Que., finished eighth in the men's 500
With files from The Canadian Press