AP Photo/By Han Guan
November 30, 2024
Isabelle Weidemann won the bronze medal in the women's 3000m final at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Beijing, China, on Saturday.
That podium finish at the Beijing Ice Ribbon marked a familiar moment for the 29-year-old, who repeated her bronze medal result from the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Starting in the fourth of eight starts, Weidemann clocked 4:02.02, his best time of the season to date. She held the top spot for two pairs before being overtaken by Dutchwoman Joy Beune, who crossed the finish line in 4:01.90. Norway's Ragne Wiklund won gold with a time of 4:00.10.
After opting out of the Canadian Long Track Speed Skating Championships this fall, Weidemann began his World Cup campaign with a ninth-place finish at the season-opening competition in Nagano, Japan, on last weekend — marking only his second race of the season.
“I feel like I'm starting to get my racing legs back a little bit,” Weidemann said after his race. “I think on a tactical level, last week, I really made some mistakes. I had a crossover problem, and I was really disappointed afterwards, thinking I had let myself down. This weekend I wanted to be aggressive and show off everything I've worked on this summer, without letting these small tactical errors interfere with my performance. »
This place on the podium allowed Weidemann to climb to fourth position in the general ranking of the Long Distance Speed Skating World Cup. She accumulated 80 points in two races, placing her behind Wiklund (114), Beune (102) and teammate Ivanie Blondin (94).
Four Canadian skaters also managed to place in the top 10 in their respective distances during the second day of racing in Beijing. Blondin, who won gold in the 3000m last weekend, finished eighth in this event, while her teammate Valérie Maltais took tenth place. On the men's side, Graeme Fish and Ted-Jan Bloemen took seventh and ninth places respectively in the men's 5000m.
