Ottawa’s Isabelle Weidemann wins long-track speedskating silver at World Cup

HEERENVEEN, Netherlands — Ottawa’s Isabelle Weidemann won a silver medal in the women’s 3,000 metres on Sunday at the long-track speedskating World Cup in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

It was her third individual medal of the season, having previously captured gold in the 3,000 metres and silver in the 5,000 metres.

Weidemann set a new personal best time of four minutes 0.120 seconds, which put her behind gold medallist Antoinette de Jong of the Netherlands (3:59.419) and just ahead of bronze medallist Martina Sablíkova of the Czech Republic (4:00.337).

“I’m really happy with my race today,” said Weidemann, who also won gold in the 3,000 metres on the outdoor oval in Tomakomai, Japan last month. “I felt really strong in the last couple of laps and I’m proud that my race was very consistent.

“Obviously, there are always some things that I can improve on, but right now I’m excited for the world single distance championships and the rest of the year.”

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Ivanie Blondin, also from Ottawa, was paired with Weidemann in the 3,000 metres and finished in sixth with a time of 4:02.230. It was the third top 10 result of the season in that distance for the two-time Olympian, who has also finished fourth and eighth.

Weidemann is now first in the overall World Cup long distance rankings with 200 points, ahead of Blondin, who is in fifth place with 158 points.

Valerie Maltais of Saguenay, Que., who was competing in just the second long track World Cup of her career, skated a personal best of 4:06.391, which put her 13th. The converted short-track skater continues to make progress in her newly adopted discipline, having earned a pair of top 10 results in Division B races since joining the team in Poland last weekend.

In other Division A action, Toronto’s Jordan Belchos posted a personal best of 6:16.960 in the 5,000 metres, good for 10th position. Graeme Fish of Moose Jaw, Sask., who was paired with reigning Olympic champion and eventual bronze medallist Sven Kramer of the Netherlands, finished 15th (6:23.917). Calgary’s Kaylin Irvine was 19th (1:16.846) in the women’s 1,000 metres, while Antoine Gelinas-Beaulieu was 16th (1:09.730) in the men’s 1,000 metres.

The Canadian Press