Canadian men fail to advance to semis in Olympic team pursuit speed skating
Canadian women finished well out of medals in women’s 500m final
Canada failed to advance to the semifinals of the men's team pursuit in long track speed skating Sunday, while the Canadian women finished off the podium in the 500-metre final.
In what was a busy Sunday evening at the National Speed Skating Oval, Canada finished fifth in the men's team pursuit with a time of three minutes 40.18 seconds.
Canada's team of Jordan Belchos, Ted-Jan Bloemen and Connor Howe raced in the second of four pairs for a spot in the semifinals. However, Canada finished in fifth place overall in the 3,200-metre race, leaving them out of Tuesday's semis.
Reigning Olympic champion Norway finished in the top spot to secure a place in the semis with a time of 3:37.47, followed by the United States in second and the Russian Olympic Committee in third. The last spot in the semis was claimed by the reigning world champion Dutch team.
Canada will race in a 'C' final with the Republic of Korea, which finished sixth.
WATCH | Men's team pursuit quarter-final and women's 500m final:
After the race, Belchos said the team was "disappointed" with the result.
"I think we expected more than that," he said. "But I thought my teammates did a good job."
Bloemen said the trio "tried our best and we gave it our all and it wasn't enough."
The women's 500m final got underway with 15 pairs of skaters competing for a medal. In the end, Erin Jackson of the United States won gold with a blistering time of 37.04, while Japan's Miho Takagi won silver with a time of 37.12, followed by Angelina Golikova of the Russian Olympic Committee, who won bronze with a time of 37.21.
Competing in the women's 500m final for Canada were Marsha Hudey, who was the top Canadian in 21st place, Brooklyn McDougall, who finished right behind in 22nd place, and Heather McLean, who finished in 27th place.
