Laurent Dubreuil opens World Cup speed skating season with silver

Canadian sprint star Laurent Dubreuil kicked off the ISU World Cup Speed Skating season with a silver medal in the 500m in Nagano, Japan.

Dubreuil, who finished second overall in last season’s 500m World Cup standings and won silver in the event at the World Single Distances Championships, skated to a time of 34.58 seconds at the first of six World Cup stops for the season.

In the second last pairing, Dubreuil had his eyes on the leading time of 34.43 seconds that had been posted by reigning world champion Jordan Stolz of the United States, but finished 0.15 of a second back. The Canadian just edged out Japan’s Tatsuya Shinhama for the second spot on the podium by three one-thousandths (0.003) of a second.

“I am really happy with my race today, ” said Dubreuil. “It wasn’t a perfect race by any means, but I’d say that it was quite good. The start was a bit slower than last week, but this was my first time skating a lap under 25 seconds at sea level this year. I know there is a tenth or two to be gained out there, so hopefully I can find that speed for the next 500m this Sunday.”

Dubreuil opened his international season last weekend with a silver medal in the 500m at the ISU Four Continents Championships, sandwiched between the same two competitors.

Also on Friday’s first day of racing in Nagano, Ivanie Blondin placed fifth in the 1500m. Her time of 1:55.65 left her just 0.07 of a second out of a podium position.

Competition continues throughout the weekend. Saturday will include the women’s 3000m, men’s 5000m, and 1000m races for both. Sunday will feature the team pursuits, the mass starts, and a second set of 500m races.