Speed Skating Canada – SALT LAKE CITY, USA – The conclusion of the international long track speed skating season is upon us, with this weekend’s 2019 ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final in Salt Lake City, Utah marking the end of competition.

A total of six Canadians will lace up their skates for this final competition of the season, including four – Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.), Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.), Jordan Belchos (Toronto, Ont.) and Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, Alta.) – that competed at last weekend’s World Allround Championships in Calgary.

They will be joined by Heather McLean (Winnipeg, Man.) and Laurent Dubreuil (Lévis, Que.), who last skated two weeks ago at the World Sprint Championships in the Netherlands.

The two-day competition gets underway on Saturday with the 1000m, ladies’ 3000m and men’s 5000m, while the 1500m and mass start will take place Sunday. Both days will also feature a 500m race.

Blondin will have the busiest schedule of the bunch, competing in the 1500m, 3000m and mass start. She is coming off a bronze medal in the 1500m at the World Allrounds and won silver in the mass start at last month’s World Single Distance Championships in Germany.

Joining her in both the 3000m and mass start is Weidemann, who enters the competition ranked third in the world in ladies’ long-distance races. She reached the podium in the 3000m twice at World Cups – gold in Tomakomai and silver in Heerenveen – and earned bronze with a personal best in the distance at the World Allrounds last weekend.

Bloemen will skate the 5000m in Salt Lake City, on the same ice where he established the current world record of 6:01.86 back in 2017. The reigning Olympic silver medalist in the distance captured bronze at the final World Cup of the season and finished fifth at both the World Allrounds and World Single Distance Championships.

Joining him in the men’s 5000m is Belchos, who is currently the country’s top ranked long-distance skater (8^th). The Toronto native will also line up in the mass start this weekend.

Rounding out the field are Canadian sprint specialists McLean and Dubreuil, who will both take part in the 500m races and look to improve upon their identical 12^th place finishes at last month’s World Sprint Championships in Heerenveen.

CBC Sports and Radio-Canada will be live streaming the races on Saturday (14:30 EST) and Sunday (15:30 EST). A detailed event schedule and live results can be found on the ISU Results Portal.

The full list of athletes who will be competing at the World Cup Final is below. A biography of each athlete can be found on the Speed Skating Canada website.

Ladies Team

• BLONDIN, Ivanie (Ottawa, Ont.) – 1500m, 3000m, Mass Start
• MCLEAN, Heather (Winnipeg, Man.) – 500m
• WEIDEMANN, Isabelle (Ottawa, Ont.) – 3000m, Mass Start

 

Men’s Team

• BELCHOS, Jordan (Toronto, Ont.) – 5000m, Mass Start
• BLOEMEN, Ted-Jan (Calgary, Alta.) – 5000m
• DUBREUIL, Laurent (Lévis, Que.) – 500m

 

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MEDIA

Alain Brouillette
Speed Skating Canada
Email: communications@speedskating.ca 
Phone: 613-601-2630