Ivanie Blondin

Last updated

Ivanie Blondin
2013 WSDC Sochi - Ivanie Blondin.JPG
Ivanie Blondin in 2013
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
Born (1990-04-02) April 2, 1990 (age 33)
Ottawa, Ontario [1]
Height1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight55 kg (121 lb)
Sport
CountryCanada
Sport Speed skating
Event(s)5000 m, Mass start
ClubGloucester Concordes
Medal record
Women's speed skating
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Beijing Team pursuit
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2022 Beijing Mass start
World Single Distances Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2016 Kolomna Mass start
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2020 Salt Lake City Mass start
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Heerenveen Team sprint
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2023 Heerenveen Team pursuit
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Calgary Team sprint
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2015 Heerenveen Mass start
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Inzell Mass start
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2021 Heerenveen Mass start
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2021 Heerenveen Team pursuit
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2023 Heerenveen Mass start
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2024 Calgary Team pursuit
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2017 Gangneung 5000 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2020 Salt Lake City Team pursuit
World Allround Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2020 Hamar Allround
Four Continents Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Salt Lake City Mass start
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2024 Salt Lake CityTeam pursuit
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2024 Salt Lake CityTeam sprint

Ivanie Blondin (born April 2, 1990) is a Canadian speed skater. She primarily skates in the long distances of 3000 m and 5000 m and the mass start event. Blondin won a silver medal in the mass start event at the 2015 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships [2] and a gold medal in the same event at the 2020 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships. [3] She also won the silver medal at the 2020 World Allround Speed Skating Championships. [4] She won a gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Women's team pursuit. [5]

Contents

Career

She began her career competing in short track speed skating while a youth in the Gloucester Concordes skating club. She competed there with fellow Olympian Vincent De Haître, to whom she feels like an older sister. [6] After Blondin failed to qualify in short track for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver she nearly quit sport. Mike Rivet, her coach in Gloucester, convinced her to switch to long track, a decision in which she says, "I was ready to quit skating because I was just so discouraged and disappointed with it. I think (the switch) was the best decision I could have ever made." [6] As a result, Blondin represented Canada in both the long-distance events at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi as well as the team pursuit event.

Blondin won her first major competitive medal when she placed second in the mass start event at the 2015 World Single Distance Championships. After the race, she said, "I would have preferred the gold medal, but finishing first at this stage of my career remains a big accomplishment for me, so I'm super pumped with second place. I'm ecstatic with the result, which follows a fantastic season." [2]

2018 Olympics

After results from the 2017–18 ISU Speed Skating World Cup, Blondin pre-qualified for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. [7] She competed in the 3000 m, 5000 m, mass start, and team relay events.

In 2020, she won the mass start event gold medal at the 2020 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships at the Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City, United States. [3] This was followed up with the silver medal at the World Allround Speed Skating Championships in March. She was the first Canadian woman to reach the overall podium at that event since 2012 and only the fifth since the event started in 1936. [4]

2022 Winter Olympics

In January 2022, Blondin was named to her first Olympic team. [8] [9] [10] Blondin would go on to win the gold medal as part of the team pursuit event. [11] [12] Blondin next competed in the mass start event at the Olympics, comfortably winning her semifinal to go on to the final. There, with one lap to go, Blondin made her move while following behind Irene Schouten; over the last turn, Blondin led, but Schouten pushed passed her to edge her out for the gold. Blondin happily settled for the silver medal, her second of these games. [13] After the race, she spoke with CBC Sports telling them of her preferred event in the mass start that "These races, the mass start, it fires me up. I'm a little bit of a fighter, and I'm very competitive, so the fact that girls were pushing me and there was a lot of jostling and pushing and shoving around just fires me up and kinda gets me going." [13]

Personal life

Blondin started skating in her backyard at the age of 2. She initially was in figure skating, but seeing herself as a tomboy, she was more inclined to speed skating and took that up at age seven instead. [14] Blondin said she loved the feeling of speed on her skates, which is why she chose the sport over cross-country skiing. [14] Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Blondin attended École secondaire catholique Garneau , a catholic French high school; she completed a Veterinary Assistant program at Robertson College online and has a pet parrot named Gizmo and a St. Bernard-Pyrenees cross named Brooks. [14] Blondin married Hungarian speed skater Konrád Nagy in 2020. [15]

Personal records

Personal records [16]
Women's speed skating
EventResultDateLocationNotes
500 m38.8323 February 2019 Olympic Oval, Calgary
1000 m1:14.184 January 2020Olympic Oval, Calgary
1500 m1:51.768 February 2020 Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City
3000 m3:56.883 December 2021Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City
5000 m6:48.9815 February 2020Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City

She is currently in 6th position in the adelskalender. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ireen Wüst</span> Dutch speed skater

Irene Karlijn (Ireen) Wüst is a Dutch former long track speed skater of German ancestry. Wüst became the most successful speed skating Olympian ever by achieving at least one gold medal in each of five consecutive Winter Olympic appearances. Wüst is also the only athlete to win an individual gold medal in five consecutive Olympics, Summer or Winter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Nesbitt</span> Canadian speed skater

Christine Nesbitt is a Canadian retired long track speed skater who currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia. She won the gold medal in the 1000 metres event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. She had previously won a silver medal in the team pursuit at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. She is also the 2011 sprint champion, 2012 1500 metres world champion, three-time world champion for 1000 metres, and three-time world champion for team pursuit. On 4 June 2015 she announced her retirement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denny Morrison</span> Canadian speed skater

Denny Morrison is a Canadian speedskater from Fort St. John, British Columbia. He is an Olympic champion as a member of Canada's men's team pursuit, an event which he also won silver in at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Morrison won his first individual Olympic medal in Sochi when he won a silver in the men's 1000 m after teammate Gilmore Junio selflessly gave up his spot in order for Morrison, who fell at the national qualification event, failed to originally qualify. He won a second individual medal at those games, a bronze in the 1500 m. With four total Olympic medals, Morrison shares the record for the most medals of any Canadian male long track speed skaters along with Gaétan Boucher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted-Jan Bloemen</span> Dutch-Canadian speed skater

Ted-Jan Bloemen is a Dutch-Canadian long track speed skater. He started competing for the Canadian national speed skating team during the 2014–15 season, but before that, he competed for the Netherlands in international competitions. Bloemen primarily competes in long-distance events as well as team pursuit events. He is a former world record holder for the 5,000 m (6:01.86), set in Salt Lake City, and was the Olympic record holder for the 10,000 m (12:39.77), set when he won gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Bloemen also won a silver medal in the 5,000 m at the Pyeongchang Olympics, the first Canadian man to medal in the distance since 1932. He has won a silver in 10,000 m and one bronze and silver in the team pursuit at the World Speed Skating Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valérie Maltais</span> Canadian speed skater

Valérie Maltais is a Canadian short track speed skater and speed skater. She has won six world championship medals, including finishing second overall in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karolína Erbanová</span> Czech ice hockey player and speed skater

Karolína Erbanová is a Czech ice hockey player and retired long-track speed skater. She won a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in the 500 m event in speed skating. She is a member of the Czech national ice hockey team and plays in the Naisten Liiga (NSML) with HPK Kiekkonaiset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilmore Junio</span> Canadian speed skater

Gilmore Junio, also known as Gimoy, is a Canadian speedskater from Calgary. He competes primarily in the short distances of 500 m and 1000 m. A three-time Olympian, Junio competed at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang, and 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kali Christ</span> Canadian speed skater

Kali Christ is a Canadian speed skater. She primarily skates in the middle distances of 1000 m, 1500m, as well as the mass start event. Christ represented Canada in both these events at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi as well as the team pursuit event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurent Dubreuil</span> Canadian speed skater from Lévis, Quebec

Laurent Dubreuil is a Canadian speed skater. He competes primarily in the short distances of 500 m and 1000 m. Dubreuil won his first World Cup medal during the 2014–15 season when he placed third in the World Cup stop in Seoul. He won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Single Distance Championships and a silver medal in the 1000m at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Belchos</span> Canadian speed skater

Jordan Belchos is a Canadian speed skater. He primarily skates in the long distances of 1500 m, 5000 m and 10 000 m, as well as the mass start event. He won medals at the World Cup level and finished third at the 2012–13 ISU Speed Skating Mass Start World Cup.

Heather McLean is a Canadian speed skater who is specialized in the sprint distances.

Alexandre St-Jean is a Canadian speed skater who is specialized in the sprint distances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabelle Weidemann</span> Canadian speed skater

Isabelle Weidemann is a Canadian speed skater. She is a multiple Olympic medallist, winning gold in the team pursuit, silver in the 5,000 metre, and bronze in the 3,000 metre at the 2022 Winter Olympics. She is the third Canadian ever to have won more than two medals at a single Winter Olympic Games following Cindy Klassen and Gaétan Boucher. Weidemann also previously won a silver and bronze medal at the 2021 and 2020 World Single Distance Championships in women's team pursuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Canada competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The 2022 Winter Olympics were held in Beijing, China, from 4 to 20 February 2022. Canada has competed in all 24 editions of the Winter Olympics.

Connor Howe is a Canadian professional speed skater.

The women's mass start competition in speed skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 19 February, at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing. Irene Schouten of the Netherlands won the event, her third gold and fourth overall medal at these Olympics. Ivanie Blondin of Canada won her first individual Olympic medal, the silver. Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy won the bronze medal.

The women's team pursuit competition in speed skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 12 February (semifinals) and 15 February (final), at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing. Ivanie Blondin, Valérie Maltais, and Isabelle Weidemann, representing Canada, won the event, setting an Olympic record in Final A. This was the first gold medal for Canada in this event and the first Canadian medal since 2006. Ayano Sato, Miho Takagi, and Nana Takagi of Japan set an Olympic record in the semifinals and eventually won the silver medal. Japan was leading during the final against Canada when Nana Takagi fell down with less than half a lap to go. Antoinette de Jong, Marijke Groenewoud, Irene Schouten, and Ireen Wüst, representing the Netherlands, won the bronze medal.

Brooklyn McDougall is a Canadian long track speed skater who specializes in the sprint distances.

Alexa Scott is a Canadian long track speed skater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maddison Pearman</span> Canadian long track speed skater

Maddison Pearman is a Canadian long track speed skater.

References

  1. Speed Skating Canada. "Profile". Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Blondin wins silver, Dubreuil bronze at speed skating worlds". CBC Sports. February 15, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Coon, John (February 16, 2020). "Ivanie Blondin claims mass start gold at world speed skating championships". CBC Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Blondin earns rare overall podium finish for Canadian women at allround speed skating worlds". CBC Sports. March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  5. "Ivanie Blondin". Team Canada - Official Olympic Team Website. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Ottawa-raised speed skaters qualify for 1st Olympics together". CBC Sports. January 29, 2014.
  7. "Potential battles for the last Olympic spots available set to take place at 2018 Long Track Team Selections". speedskating.ca/. Speed Skating Canada. December 29, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  8. Nichols, Paula (January 17, 2022). "16 long track speed skaters nominated to Team Canada for Beijing 2022". www.olympic.ca/. Canadian Olympic Committee . Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  9. "Bloemen, Dubreuil leads Canada's long-track speedskaters into Beijing". Canadian Press . Toronto, Ontario, Canada. January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  10. "Speed skating Olympians Blondin, Dubreuil front Canada's long track team for Beijing". www.cbc.ca/. CBC Sports. January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  11. Boynton, Sean (February 15, 2022). "Canada wins gold medal in women's team pursuit speed skating at Beijing Olympics". Global News . Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  12. "Canada captures gold in Olympic women's speedskating team pursuit". www.sportsnet.ca/. Sportsnet. February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Dichter, Myles (February 19, 2022). "Canada's Ivanie Blondin skates to 2nd medal of Beijing Olympics with mass start silver". CBC Sports . CBC Sports . Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 "Canadian Olympic Committee profile". Canadian Olympic Committee . Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  15. Rachel Brady (February 17, 2022). "Canadian speed skater Ivanie Blondin gets second chance to shine in the mass start at Beijing Olympics". Globe and Mail .
  16. "Ivanie Blondin". speedskatingresults.com. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  17. "Adelskalendern". evertstenlund.se. Retrieved March 22, 2022.