Quebec sprinter becomes first Canadian to medal at Pettit National Ice Center since Jeremy Wotherspoon in 2005
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – Laurent Dubreuil earned bronze in the men’s 500m during the ISU World Cup Speed Skating’s long-awaited return to the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee on Saturday, becoming the first Canadian in nearly 20 years to reach the podium at the historic American speed skating oval.
Racing in front of over 3,000 fans at his hometown rink, Wisconsin’s Jordan Stolz posted the time to beat in the second last pair, setting a new track record of 33.91 en route to victory, comfortably ahead of Dutch pair mate Jenning De Boo (34.28), who settled for silver.
The 500m win marked the 22nd consecutive World Cup victory for the American phenom across the 500m, 1000m and 1500m. The 20-year-old would earn his 23rd straight gold medal a short time later thanks to a decisive win in the 1500m, where he blew away his closest competitor by 1.21 seconds.
Despite a slower than usual opening 100m split of 9.62 seconds, the veteran Dubreuil (Lévis, Que.), who was skating in the final pair, pulled out a quick lap and stopped the clock at 34.36. While not fast enough to dethrone Stolz, he managed to secure the final spot on the podium, 0.07 seconds ahead of fourth-place finisher Damian Żurek of Poland (34.43).
“I am really happy to be back on the podium two months after my last medal in Nagano! Last week in Calgary, I was quite unhappy with my execution, but I was still close to the podium. Today, I told myself I just wanted to have a good race. I wanted to build up speed on the outside and skate well. I had a good first turn, overtook Shinhama in the second straight and stayed concentrated until the very end. A third-place finish with a time of 34.3 is still pretty good. I might have been able to beat De Boo today with a perfect race, but Stolz was absolutely unbeatable, so reaching the podium was all I could ask for.”Laurent Dubreuil
It was the 32-year-old Canadian’s second 500m medal of the World Cup season, having captured silver in the opening race of the campaign in Nagano. The Quebec sprinter is slowly returning to form after battling injuries and illness this fall. He is currently ranked third overall in the distance with 228 points, behind De Boo (290) and Stolz (360).
Built in 1992, the Pettit National Ice Center last hosted an ISU World Cup Speed Skating competition in November 2005. Legendary Canadian sprinter Jeremy Wotherspoon reached the podium three times at that event, bringing home one medal of each colour, including bronze in the first 500m just like Dubreuil.
Dubreuil is one of only seven Canadian skaters on this weekend’s roster to have previously competed at an international competition in Milwaukee. He laced up the long blades at the inaugural ISU Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in January 2020, where he captured silver in the 1000m.
In other action on Saturday, Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.) finished seventh in the women’s 1500m with a time of 1:54.16. Connor Howe (Canmore, Alta.) also earned a seventh-place finish in the 1500m (1:43.67), one day after finishing ninth in the 1000m (1:08.11).
While Canada didn’t bring home any medals during the first day of racing on Friday, a pair of long-distance skaters flirted with the podium in their respective distances. Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, Alta.) finished fifth in the men’s 5000m with a time of 6:08.65, while Valérie Maltais (La Baie, Que.) was sixth in the women’s 3000m (3:59.74).
The ISU World Cup Speed Skating from Milwaukee concludes tomorrow, where medals will be up for grabs in the second 500m of the weekend, as well as the men’s and women’s Mass Start, Team Pursuit and Mixed Relay. Races will be live streamed on CBC Sports digital channels starting at 2:30pm ET
Results
500m Women’s
- Carolina Hiller: 16th
- Béatrice Lamarche: 6th (Division B)
- Brooklyn McDougall: 7th (Division B)
- Rose Laliberté-Roy: 9th (Division B)
500m Men’s
- Laurent Dubreuil: 3rd
- Anders Johnson: 12th
- Christopher Fiola: 18th
- Cédrick Brunet: 10th (Division B)
1500m Women’s
- Ivanie Blondin: 7th
- Valérie Maltais: 17th
- Abigail McCluskey: 7th (Division B)
- Béatrice Lamarche: 10th (Division B)
- Alexa Scott: 11th (Division B)
1500m Men’s
- Connor Howe: 7th
- David La Rue: 16th
- Jake Weidemann: 12th (Division B)
- Max Halyk: 25th (Division B)
CONTACT
Alain Brouillette
Speed Skating Canada
communications@speedskating.ca
613-601-2630
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