Speed
skating
East
end pair strike gold at World Cup event in Kazahkstan
By Fred Sherwin
OrleansOnline,ca
 |
East
end natives Vincent de Haitre and Ivanie Blondin
won a pair of golf medals at theaWorld Cup
event in Kazahkstan on the weekend. GETTY
IMAGES
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East
end natives Ivanie Blondin and Vincent de Haître
were on top of their game at a World Cup event in Kazahkstan
on the weekend, combining for a pair of gold medals in
their respective specialties.
Cumberland
native de Haître won his first ever individual gold
medal in international competition with a first place
performance in the 1000-metres on Saturday.
De
Haître, 22, had to beat reigning World Cup champion
Pavel Kulizhnikov on his to the top of the podium, which
made his victory that much more sweeter. His best result
on the international stage before this weekend was a thrid
place finish in the 1000-metres at the World Cup finals
last year.
Its
still sinking in, de Haître said after his
skate on Saturday. Im super happy about it.
I was thinking about all the stuff Ive been working
on all week, and I tried to apply it as much as I could.
During the last lap, I got a little bit nervous. There
is still room for improvement, but Im still incredibly
happy about it.
De
Haître said that making a change to his approach
also helped.
Before,
as soon as I would find out who I was with in my pair,
I would get nervous because of who they were and I would
worry about where they would be on the ice. This time,
I told myself to really focus on what I needed to do in
the race and that if I see him, I see him. And if I dont,
its a good race.
Orléans
native Ivanie Blondin had a good race in her specialty,
the mass start, surviving a very physical final few laps
to win her second gold medal of the season to go along
with one silver.
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, although I was
a little bit nervous before the race because I knew Irene
Schouten was going to be out there this was her
first mass start this season, said Ivanie Blondin
about the Dutch skater, one of her main rivals in recent
seasons in the mass start event.
During
the last lap, the Dutch skaters tried the same strategy
that the Japanese skaters used at last seasons World
Championships, so I knew how to react. I was able to find
my way between the two Dutch skaters and place myself
in good position for the last stretch, added Blondin.
Things were sketchy at the end, but I was able to
defend my spot well, I was aggressive, I did what I had
to do to win todays race.
Blondin
began the weekend with a fourth place performance in the
3000-metres, while fellow east-ender Isabelle Weidemann
came in eighth place in the same race.
The
pair were then part of the Canadian team persuit team,
along with Calgarys Brianne Tutt, that crashed out
of their race and didnt finish.
(Posted
8:30 a.m., Dec. 7)
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