Team pursuit gold medal goes to Canada

Canada and Norway are team pursuit Olympic champions in Beijing. 

By Jackob Savard

Photo : ISU speed skating

The Netherlands, Canada, Japan and the ROC were the four countries still in contention for a podium in the women's category, while in the men's category it was the Netherlands, the ROC, Norway and the United States that were still in the running.

The Canadians and the Japanese won their respective semi-finals in the women's event before facing each other in the grand final. Canada, represented by Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin and Valérie Maltais, won the gold medal ahead of Japan and the Netherlands. In the last lap of the A final, the Japanese team fell, leaving the field open for the Canadians. Team Canada also established the new Olympic Record. 

In the men's event, Norway and the ROC were the two finalists after beating the Dutch and the Americans in the semi-finals. In the end, it was the Norwegian team that won the grand final. The ROC and USA finished second and third. 

The women's 1000m will be skated tomorrow in Beijing. 

Read our previous articles about the Olympics 

Results

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Shim Suk-Hee and Hwang Dae-heon to lead Korea at the 2022 Olympics

After four days of racing at the Korean team trial, the Korean skating union announced their official 2022 Olympic team. 

By Jackob Savard

Photo: Schaats Foto's

Korea's top short track skaters competed for the 10 spots on their country's Olympic team in a two-phase selection competition where everyone had to compete twice in each distance. Olympic medallists Shim Suk-hee and Choi Min-jeong won the women's ranking, while Olympic medallist and former 500m world champion Hwang Dae-heon took the honours in the men's ranking. 

While some members of this team will take part in their third Games like Kwak Yoon-Gy and Shim Suk-Hee, four skaters will have their first Olympic experience in Beijing in 2022 thanks to their performances this weekend. 

Olympic Team 2022 :

1. Hwang Dae-Heon (2nd Olympics)

2. Lee Jun-Seo (1st Olympics)

3. Park JangHyuk (1st Olympics)

4. Kwak Yoon-Gy (3rd Olympics)

5. Kim Dong-Wook (1st Olympics)

1. Shim Suk Hee (3rd Olympics)

2. Choi Min Jeong (2nd Olympics)

3. Kim Ji Yoo (1st Olympics)

4. Lee Yu-Bin (2nd Olympics)

5. Kim Alang (3rd Olympics)

Browse the full results gathered by Tony Chung

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When a teammate makes the difference

By Jackob Savard

Photos: Schaats Foto’s & Martin Holtom

The Olympic games always create great stories here’s one of our favorite.

A tough start

Suzanne Schulting’s first Olympic games didn’t start the way she would’ve liked. She suffered a fall in her 500m qualification. Adding to that, the Dutch relay team didn’t qualify for the A final on the first day of racing.

The 20 years old skater, who is often seen as the incarnation of joy, shared with a reporter from De Telegraaf that she had difficulties handling the hectic ambiance of the Olympics and that she was exhausted after her first few days spent in Pyeongchang. Schulting bursted into tears on friday the 16th during a training session.

Jorien ter Mors who had won the 1000m in long track two days prior, came in support of her young teammate by cheering her up and giving her advices. "We have to help and support each other, this is her first Olympics." said ter Mors about the situation. Other than being Suzanne’s friend and teammate, Jorien ter Mors also played the role of a mentor for her through these tough times.

A fairy tail’s ending

After a tough start , the second half of the Olympic games was at the complete opposite for Suzanne Schulting. She helped the Dutch team break the ladies’ 3000m relay world record in the B final and took profit of two disqualifications in the A final to win the bronze medal. (read our text about this controversial relay HERE)

Two days after winning the bronze medal with her team, Suzanne raced two perfect 1000m and did the race of her life in the A final to win the distance. Schulting is the first ever Dutch lady to be crowned olympic champion in the history of the sport. Suzanne finally left Pyeongchang with a bronze medal and a gold medal. Their is a little part of Jorien ter Mors in Suzanne’s success and this story shows the importance of having the support of your teammates.

If you already miss the Games you can visit our Pyeongchang olympics page with all our articles related to the Olympics by clicking HERE.

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Deanna Lockett aims for long track glory

Australian short track speed skating olympian Deanna Lockett will make the switch from short to long track next season.

Par Jackob Savard

Photo: Schaats Foto’s & Martin Holtom

The 22 years old skater who’s already a two times olympian in short track will now look to qualify for the Beijing Olympic games in long track speed skating. "As many people know, anything can happen in short track and sometimes it can go in your favour and other times it doesn’t. It’s what I love and also hate about the sport", said Lockett.

Before it’s too late

With a couple of seasons on the international short track circuit under her belt, Lockett wants to try long track speed skating before it’s too late. "You can only be an Olympic athlete for a short time. So have no regrets." said the Australian skater who won a bronze medal at the Budapest World cup last season. Lockett never tried long track speed skating before and is excited about this new start and adding new goals to her athlete's life.

Lockett’s dream will bloom in the Netherlands

After training a couple of years in South Korea for short track, Lockett will continue her skating career in the Netherlands for long track speed skating. She will join an international group of skaters trained by Desly Hill. She will train alongside skaters like Australia's Daniel Creig, Austria's Vanessa Herzog, Belgiium's Mathias Voste and other skaters competing on the long track World cup circuit.

Knowing the impact of this kind of change, Deanna Lockett is motivated and willing to do anything to achieve her goals on the 400m track!

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Vincent De Haître has big dreams on two wheels

From the Olympic Oval in Calgary to the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, ON – Vincent De Haître is a talented dual-sport athlete who looks to build on his previous successes in track cycling during the offseason this summer.

By:  Maria Dalton

Photos by: Schaats Foto’s, Lauriane Genest (@laurianegenest44) & Vincent De Haître’s personal Instagram

Two-time Olympian Vincent De Haître started skating short track at the age of six before making the switch to long track when he moved to Calgary after finishing high school. His breakout season came in 2013-2014 when he competed at his first world cup and qualified, much to his surprise, for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. Perhaps most notably, he broke the 1000m Canadian record at the 2017 World Sprint Championships in Calgary, eclipsing the previous mark set my Jeremy Wotherspoon.

Not only is De Haître a force to be reckoned with on skates, but he also excels on two wheels at the velodrome. The current 1000m Canadian record holder competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as a member of team Canada’s track cycling squad.  Eager to take part in as many Olympic Games as possible, the 23-year-old from Cumberland, Ontario is looking to make his dream of attending the 2020 games in Tokyo a reality by shifting his focus from skating to track cycling during the off season this summer.

Trading blades for two wheels

“This is going to be a bit more of a serious go at it.” he said of his goal to attend the 2020 games. With the offseason now underway, De Haître is planning his move to Milton, ON where he will spend the summer away from the oval and on the track - “I’m going to give it a serious try and obviously if it doesn’t go well or I’m not fit for it then I’m going to find out by the end of the summer.” He has previously represented Canada in track cycling at the 2014 Commonwealth games in Glasgow, where he only trained specifically for cycling for a month and a half beforehand. He is adamant that if he doesn’t feel competitive in the sport after the summer, that he doesn’t want to take up a spot that could potentially go to someone else. Although it’s hard to say how his training this summer will pan out, his goal is clear: “I want to find out if I’m competitive and if I actually bring something to the team. And if I do, then I want to stay because I mean, I want to go to as many Olympics as possible.”

When asked about the potential trade-offs he could be making by training for one sport over another he had this to say, “I’m hoping we can work something out where I can either do both or maintain some sort of fitness, because physiologically I’m not the most ‘snappy’ person, so there’s no point in only doing snappy stuff if I’m never going to be that great at it. But at the same time, I can’t just do endurance and expect to be fast.” Although Vincent De Haître trains with the endurance guys for skating, he says that in cycling the programs are a lot more divided. That’s why it’s going to be important for him to sit down with the coaches and find out what program they want to put him in. When asked about his prospects in terms of what kind of distances we can expect to see him racing he said this, “I think it would be easier to be a team pursuit cyclist and come back to speed skating, because you’ll always have the base to work from. As a sprinter you have a lot of power, but in speed skating as much as it looks like a power sport it’s actually a sustained power sport because if you go 100% you’re probably going to skate bad, so it’s about how well you can hold 80%. And then in cycling it’s all about giving 100% in sprinting.”

Learning from the past, building for the future

In the beginning it wasn’t always easy for the young man from Milton to enjoy the competition, “picture a horse in a stable, and they only take him out for the race, and the rest is just training, and I almost felt like that […] It created this very negative emotional energy around who I was or who I thought I was.” Over the years he has learned to understand the value in sometimes doing things that don’t seem like they’re going to help you, because in the end that’s what makes you a well-rounded person. De Haître has found lots of success in recent seasons, and talked about how he has learned to better prepare himself mentally for competition: “Racing itself takes a lot of physical energy obviously, but the emotional energy around trying to get yourself mentally prepared to give everything you have is something that is incredibly exhausting. But it’s something that I’ve been able to almost, to a point, master.”

When speaking about his previous Olympic and Commonwealth games experiences he says: “It was knowledge that I couldn’t have gotten any other way.” He hopes to use this experience and knowledge as he moves forward in his career in both cycling, and skating. His goal is to become a consistent top five world cup athlete, and although he finished ranked 7th overall in the 1000m in the World cup standings this season and had some really good races, he also had some bad ones - “Essentially my goal is to have those good performances but just make those bad ones more consistent, which is what I’ve been achieving this last year. And now the goal is to take that knowledge and experience and see if it directly translates to performances in a similar sport.”

One must wonder if such a talented athlete always knew he was going to compete on the world stage, and when asked to recall such a moment, he shared this touching anecdote: “when we’d drive home (from practice), we’d drive by the post office and sometimes my dad would give me the keys to go and get the mail out. Then one day I asked him ‘how do you know if you’re going to the Olympics?’ and my dad said, ‘well you probably get a letter in the mail’, so then every time I’d get to open the mail I was super excited, hoping to get that letter.”

“And I finally did this year.” He said with a chuckle, “Just kidding, they don’t send you a letter.”

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The Dutch skating union reacts

The Dutch skating union announced the creation of a training group for the skaters who aren't sponsored yet for the 2018-2019 season.

By Jackob Savard

Photo: Schaats Foto’s

Since a lot of professional skating team like Justlease, Afterpay and probably Plantina will not sponsor speed skaters anymore, a lot of champions are now alone with no sponsor nor coach nor training center for the next season.

The Dutch skating union confirmed the creation of an elite training group that will welcome 6 to 12 skaters to helped them prepare for the next season. Five times olympic champion Ireen Wüst, olympic champion and world sprint champion Jorien ter Mors, world champion Kai Verbij and Dutch sprint champion Dai Dai Ntab are some of the skaters who could join this group as they have no team for the moment.

It’s a temporary but necessary solution. The executives of the Dutch skating union said they are hoping for some sponsors to get involve in the speed skating world and create new teams as fast as possible. At the moment, Jumbo and Clafis are the only two remaining professional teams in the Netherlands.

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Exciting mass start event to conclude the Olympics in speed skating

Mass start races concluded the speed skating events of the Olympics today at the Gangneung oval in front of a roaring crowd.

By Jackob Savard

Photos: Thomas di Nardo (https://www.thomasdinardo.com) & Schaats Foto’s

It was the first time that the spectacular mass start event was raced at the Olympic games.

Ladies’ semifinals

Francesca Lollobrigida from Italy was dominant in the first semifinal gathering some sprint laps’ points and crossing the finish line in first position. The inline speed skating specialist came to Pyeongchang as one of the favorite to win the mass start. Canada’s Keri Morrison did a perfect race and finished in third place to qualify for the final alongside Dan Guo, Irene Schouten, Nana Takagi and Kim Bo-reum who also finished in the top 8.

There was a bit more action in the second ladies semifinal as Ivanie Blondin fell and took out Ayano Sato and Annouk van der Weijden. Sato and Blondin, who are respectively fourth and sixth in the World cup classification, would not take part in the finale. Van der Weijden managed to come back to the pack and finished second despite the fall. A medal on the distance would help her sweetened her heartbreaking fourth place on 5000m.

Men’s semifinals

Linus Heidegger from Austria was the first to pass the finish line in the first semifinal after a little breakaway with Andrea Giovannini from Italy and Shane Williamson from Japan. The three qualified for the main event. Other favorites including Lee Seung-Hoon, Alexis Contin, Koen Verweij and Olivier Jean also qualified for the final as they concluded the race in the top 8.

Peter Michael raced with confidence in the second semi and was the first to finish the 16 laps race. Almost every skater got sprint points in this race and it was a matter of who got the most. Sven Kramer who was racing in his first mass start of the season did a solid race and collected 6 points to earn his ticket for the A final. Inline speed skating specialists Bart Swings, Livio Wenger and Joey Mantia also managed  to qualify.

Ladies' final

Saskia Alusalu started her race like she did in Calgary earlier this season by trying to escape the pack with a breakaway. The pack came back on her with 3 laps to go to prepare for the sprint. Nana Takagi from Japan won the sprint finishing ahead of crowd favorite’s Kim Bo-reum and Irene Schouten from the Netherlands. Alusalu got fourth place with the 15 points she won in the intermediate sprints. Lollobrigida who’s leading the mass start World cup classification finished in 7th.

Men’s final

A lot of skaters tried to escape from the pack in the final but it was finally the sprint that decided the podium. Nobody was able to beat Korean star Lee Seung-hoon in the last stretch. His 16 years old teammate Jaewon Chung as a little bit to do with this victory as he leaded the chase group for a long time to help Lee come back on the breakaway and fight in the sprint. Bart Swings from Belgium and Koen Verweij from the Netherlands finished in second and third. Livio Wenger who was in the breakaway for the majority of the race finished fourth with 11 points. The 2017 World championships medalists on the distance Joey Mantia, Alexis Contin et Olivier Jean had a difficult race and finished 9th, 10th and 14th.

That’s it for speed skating at the Olympic games! The next long track event will be the Sprint world championships that will be held in Changchun, China on 3th and 4th March.

Visit our special coverage page to find all our articles related to Pyeongchang 2018 by clicking HERE

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Lorentzen takes gold - Surprise finishes by the Chinese and Koreans

Havard Lorentzen of Norway claimed the gold medal and set a new Olympic record, while Min-kyu Cha of Korea thrilled fans to capture the silver medal. Twenty-year old Tingyu Gao of China rounded out the podium to cap off an exciting night of skating at the Gangneung Oval.

By Maria Dalton

Photos by Schaats Foto's

Havard Lorentzen strikes gold

Havard Lorentzen captured the gold medal in thrilling fashion with his olympic record time of 34.41. His time today lowers the previous mark set by Casey Fitzrandaolph (USA) in Salt Lake City in 2002. The last Norwegian to win a gold medal in the 500m was Finn Helgesen, who won gold in St. Moritz 70 years ago. Coming into the Olympic games, Lorentzen had won three gold medals in the 500m on the 2017/2018 World Cup circuit. Under the guidance of Jeremy Wotherspoon the Norwegians have become a force to be reckoned with in the sprint distances and have had massive successes in recent seasons.

Min-kyu Cha of Korea finished in second, a mere 0.01 seconds behind Lorentzen. The crowd favourite Korean thrilled fans with his blazing time of 34.42, which momentarily stood as the Olympic Record until it was broken two pairs later.  The 24 year old’s best finish this season was a 2nd  place in the 500m at the Calgary World Cup. He competed in the World Single Distance Championships last year at the Gangneung Oval where he finished in 12th, and his time today vastly improved upon his time of 35.01 from the last year.

Rounding off the podium was Tingyu Gao of China, who raced to a bronze medal with a time of 34.65. At only 20 years of age, Tingyu Gao becomes the first Chinese man to win an Olympic medal in speed skating. The Chinese skater wasn’t considered by many to be a medal contender, as he has yet to win one in a World Cup event. With his performance today, this young skater has put the world on notice and will surely continue to excel in the distance as his career progresses.

Numerous skaters had issues with their blades picking the ice at the start line and unfortunately Artur Nogal of Poland suffered a fall straight off the line. This is very disappointing for the Polish skater who was looking to improve on his finish from four years ago in Sochi.

Disappointment for the Canadians

Alex Boisvert-Lacroix of Sherbrooke, QC was the highest Canadian finisher. He skated in the last pair but came up short with a time of 34.934 for an 11th place finish. This is a disappointing finish for the Canadian who has had a very strong season, having won gold medals in the 500m at the fall World Cups in Calgary and Salt Lake City. The other two Canadians in the mix today were Gilmore Junio from Calgary, AB and Laurent Dubreuil from Levis, QC. Junio, who is competing in his second Olympic games, finished in 17th place with a time of 35.158. Dubreuil, who was considered by many to be a medal threat in the 500m, finished a disappointing 18th with a time of 35.16.

Women’s Team Pursuit Qualification

The Dutch continued their strong performance at these Olympic games and qualified first with an Olympic Record time of 2:55.61. This time eclipsed their previous mark set four years ago in Sochi. Leenstra and De Jong will be on the hunt for their second medal of the games, while Ireen Wust will be looking to add a third medal to her haul.  The Japanese have been virtually untouchable this World cup season in the team pursuit and qualified second with a time of 2:56.08.

The Canadian trio of Ivanie Blondin, Isabelle Weidemann and Josie Morrison qualified for Wednesday’s semi-finals with a time of 2:59.03. Going into the Olympics, the Canadians were ranked third in the World cup rankings. The United States rounded out the quartet of teams advancing to the semi-finals, having qualified with a time of 2:59.75.

Visit our special coverage page to find all our articles related to Pyeongchang 2018 by clicking HERE.

RESULTS – Men 500m

Havard Lorentzen (NOR) – 34.41 (OR)

Min Kyu Cha (KOR) – 34.42

Tingyu Gao (CHN) – 34.65

Mika Poutala (FIN) – 34.68

Daichi Yamanaka (JPN) – 34.78

Joji Kato (JPN) – 34.831

Ronald Mulder (NED) – 34.839

Nico Ihle (GER) – 34.89

Kai Verbij (NED) – 34.90

Jan Smeekens (NED) – 34.930

Alex Boisevert-Lacroix (CAN) – 34.934

Kim Jun-Ho (KOR) – 35.01

Arthur Was (POL) – 35.02

Tsubana Hasegawa (JPN) – 35.08

Mitchell Whitmore (USA) – 35.13

Tea-Bum Mo (KOR) – 35.154

Gilmore Junio (CAN) – 35.158

Laurent Dubreuil (CAN) – 35.16

Pekka Koskela (FIN) – 35.19

Pedro Causil (COL) – 35.19

Daniel Greig (AUS) – 35.22

Ignat Golovatsiuk (BLR) – 35.23

Johnathan Garcia (USA) – 35.31

Stanislav Palkin (KAZ) – 35.33

Artyom Krikunov (KAZ) – 35.34

KImani Griffin (USA) – 35.38

Tao Yang (CHN) – 35.42

Henrik Fagerli Rukke (NOR) – 35.500

Joel Dufter (GER) – 35.506

Mirko Giacomo Nenzi (ITA)  - 35.51

Jiaxuan Xie (CHN) – 35.545

Mathias Voste (BEL) – 35.546

Piotr Michalski (POL) – 35.64

Ching-yang Sun (TPE) – 35.86

Roman Krech (KAZ) – 35.92

Artur Nogal (POL) – 58.75

RESULTS - W Team Pursuit

Netherlands – 2:55.61 (OR)

Japan – 2:56.08

Canada – 2:59.03

United States – 2:59.75

China – 3:00.01

Germany – 3:02.65

South Korea – 3:03.76

Poland – 3:04.80

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