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There are rivalries in sport that bring out the best in both combatants. Laurent Dubreuil versus Jordan Stolz has become one of those in long track speed skating.
In yet another battle on ice between the speed demons on Friday, it was the American Stolz who came out on top over the Canadian Dubreuil, winning the men’s 500-metre race during the ISU world championships in Calgary in a time of 33.69, a personal best for the 19-year-old. Dubreuil, 31, finished just a shade slower, 33.95, at the Olympic Oval. Damian Zurek of Poland was third, in 34.11.
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“It was a very good race, one of the best of my life,” said Dubreuil, the former 500m king from Levis, Que. “The best start I ever had, 9.45. Against the best skater of at least our generation, it’s very tough to stay focused but I’m very happy with it.
“It’s been two years in a row I’ve won silver and he’s won gold quite comfortably. Honestly, I don’t mind it. We’re there for peak performance and he’s pushing the limits of the human body and his body is a bit better than my body clearly. I’m having a very good season but let’s be realistic. My years are running out faster than his. If we can consider this a rivalry, then I’m a very, very good skater because he’s on another planet by himself.”
Dubreuil has beaten Stolz this season, but the latter has won the last four races.
“I think it’s really good,” the quiet-spoken Stolz said of the rivalry. “It’s going to create some good competitions next year, too. We’ll see how it goes three weeks in the all-arounds. He’s a really good skater and I feel if I can stay with him in the opener, it’d be a really good time.”
Stolz — the youngest single distance world champ in history in 2023 — will defend his titles in the 1000m and 1500m this weekend.
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Calgary’s Yankun Zhao, appearing in his first worlds, posted a time of 34.65 to finish 17th.
In the women’s team pursuit, the Canadian contingent of Valerie Maltais of Saguenay, Que., and Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann skated to a silver medal, unable to eclipse the swiftness of the Dutch women — Joy Beune, Irene Schouten and Marijke Groenewoud — who crossed the finish in 2:51.20. Canada threw down a 2:54.03.
The Canadians altered their strategy just before the race, with Maltais in the front and the taller Weidemann bringing up the rear.
“Just trying different things,” explained Blondin. “Today I think we nailed our race plan. It wasn’t as fast obviously as the Dutch and that’s a little bit sour, but that’s okay. We have to build on this. The goal isn’t necessarily this weekend; the goal is in the future at the next Olympics.”
The team’s synchronicity is its greatest asset.
“Staying together and skating with a really good flow,” suggested Blondin. “We’re trying to figure out when to punch it, how hard can we go at the start … all these different things we’re still trying to figure out with the new strategy. It’s growing pains with trying different things.”
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“I think one of our strengths as a team also is that we have really good communication,” added Maltais. “We can figure it out, watch the race and say openly how we feel and how we can be better. On ice, we’re good and off ice, we’re good together.”
The men’s team pursuit had the Canadian trio of Connor Howe of Canmore, Antoine Gelinas-Beaulieu of Sherbrooke, Que., and Toronto’s Hayden Mayeur leading early. But the final pairing of the competition saw a fired-up Italian squad of Andrea Giovannini, Davide Ghiotto and Michele Malfatti set a track record — 3:35.00 — en route to their gold-medal victory. Norway, in 3:36.07, took second while Canada (3:36.73) held on to bronze.
It was only the second time the Canadians skated together this year, with Mayeur focusing on his health in the first half of the season. The three had finished last year off with a world championship silver.
“It’s pretty incredible,” Mayeur admitted. “We got a chance to get the team back together for Four Continents (in Salt Lake City in January) to kind of shake the jitters off and now we’re here, standing on the podium at the world championships again this season. Pretty stoked and all things considered, there’s a lot of potential looking forward to the next two seasons and the 2026 Olympic Games.”
The Dutch added yet another gold to their haul in the women’s 500m, with Femke Kok winning that sprint in a time of 36.83. Second was Korea’s Min-Sun Kim in 37.19, closely followed by American Kimi Goetz, 37.21. The Canadians taking part were Carolina Hiller in 20th and Heather Carruthers, 23rd.
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