Maltais, Weidemann, Blondin skate to team pursuit gold at World Cup in Salt Lake City
Quebec City's Dubreuil claims silver in men's 500m on Day 2 at Utah Olympic Oval
The Canadian trio of Valérie Maltais, Isabelle Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin won women's team pursuit gold on Saturday at the speed skating World Cup stop in Salt Lake City.
The reigning Olympic champions clocked a time of two minutes 54.07 seconds at the Utah Olympic Oval, while Japan finished second in 2:55.51 and the U.S. was third in 2:57.66.
The win marked Maltais's second medal in as many days after earning bronze in the women's 3,000m on Friday. The trio also won the event on the same ice at last week's Four Continents Championships.
"We're happy with how we raced today," Weidemann said. "We've got something to clean up — I had a slip at the start, and then Val and I clipped blades coming out in the last corner — so we're looking forward to spending the next few weeks doing a little more training together."
WATCH l Canadian women capture team pursuit gold:
Laurent Dubreuil of Quebec City was oh-so close to winning a gold medal earlier in the day, settling instead for a silver medal in the men's 500m.
Dubreuil finished second behind American Jordan Stolz who crossed the line in 33.96. Dubreuil was next at 34.05, followed by Yuma Murakami of Japan in 34.16.
WATCH l Dubreuil takes home 500m silver:
"Another medal, my 35th in my individual career," Dubreuil said. "I'm happy too, it's starting to add up. I feel I've got good legs. I'll have good legs next week. I'm capable of keeping that up until the world championships. I'm pretty much where I want to be."
Connor Howe of Canmore, Alta., finished fourth in the men's 1,500m. Wesly Dijs of Netherlands took bronze in 1:42.77, while Howe finished in 1:42.83.
WATCH l Replay of Day 2 coverage:
With files from CBC Sports, Speed Skating Canada
