Takashi Aoyama/ISU via Getty Images – Jurij Kodrun/ISU via Getty Images – AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta
November 18, 2024
Two Canadian figure skating teams qualify for the prestigious ISU Grand Prix Final thanks to their performances in Finland. Canadian long track speed skaters collected a dozen medals at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Japan, establishing a solid foundation for the upcoming World Cup season. At the same time, world champions in alpine skiing and skeleton started their World Cup season on a positive note.
Keep reading to see highlights from the Canadian Olympic team this weekend.
Figure skating: Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps win a second consecutive gold
Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps delivered a record-breaking performance this season at the Finlandia Trophy, winning their second ISU Grand Prix gold medal this year. They thus officially secure their place in the ISU Grand Prix Final at the beginning of December.
To read: Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps win a second consecutive gold medal in figure skating.
After an excellent short program, the reigning pairs world champions considerably improved their free program compared to their performance at the Skate Canada International at the end of October. The only mistakes were the doubling of a planned triple salchow and a fall on the landing of the thrown triple lutz, a new element they introduced this season to increase the difficulty. With a total score of 207.44 points, Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps won the gold medal by more than 23 points. Canadians Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier also had their best performance of the season, finishing fourth, just three points off the podium.
“We have made progress since Skate Canada,” said Stellato-Dudek. “We changed the order of the elements, which seems better perceived and more natural for us. We still have some technical issues to work out, but everything from short to long has improved from our last outing, and that’s all we can ask for. »
In ice dancing, Piper Gilles and Piper GillesPiper Gilles won silver after an unexpected fall at the end of their twizzle sequence in the free skate, relegating them behind Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson. However, their victory at the Skate Canada International combined with this second place also allows them to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final.
Long track speed skating: several medals collected in Japan
Canadian long track speed skaters collected 12 medals at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Hachinohe, Japan, marking an impressive start to the international season.
Ivanie Blondin won four medals, including a victory in the women’s mass start. She also won gold in the women’s team sprint (a non-Olympic event) alongside Carolina Hiller and Béatrice Lamarche, as well as bronze medals in the 1500m and 3000m. Canada achieved a double in the 3000m thanks to Isabelle Weidemann, who won silver. Blondin and Weidemann were hoping for another podium with Valérie Maltais in the women’s team pursuit, but even the best can sometimes lose their balance, which happened to Weidemann in the second round when she slipped in the safety mats.
Graeme Fish won Canada’s only men’s gold medal by winning the 5000m. Laurent Dubreuil won three medals, with silver in the 500m and bronze in the 1000m as well as in the men’s team sprint alongside Anders Johnson and Yankin Zhao. David La Rue and Hayden Mayeur won silver and bronze respectively in the men’s mass start. La Rue was leading the race before a slight slide at the exit of the last turn allowed Kazakh Vitaliy Chshigolev to overtake him right at the finish. Mayeur also won bronze in the men’s team pursuit with Ted-Jan Bloemen and Connor Howe.
“I felt really good and executed my race plan perfectly, which was very rewarding. This title gives me confidence for the next few weeks,” Fish said.
The ISU World Cup season begins this weekend in Nagano, Japan.
Alpine skiing: St-Germain gains confidence in the slalom World Cup
Laurence St-Germain finished 10th in the first women’s slalom of the FIS World Cup season on Saturday in Levi, Finland. Her cumulative time over two runs, 1:49.45, put her 2.25 seconds behind American Mikaela Shiffrin, who earned the 98th World Cup victory of her career. St-Germain climbed the standings, going from 27th place after the first run to 10th, thanks to the third fastest time in the second run.
“I’m really happy with my second run today,” said St-Germain. “I was a little stiff in the first run, so I really wanted to ski instinctively and liberated in the second. It wasn’t perfect, but I gave it my all, and that’s the way to run here in Levi. »
St-Germain, the reigning world champion in women’s slalom, had her best result of last season in Levi, with a seventh place in November 2023. During her career, she has also finished in the top 10 in three other World Cup slaloms contested in Levi.
Aged 30 and originally from Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Quebec, St-Germain will lead the Canadian slalom team to Gurgl, Austria, for the next stage of the World Cup next weekend. The only other Canadian to complete both runs in Levi was Amelia Smart, who placed 23rd. Ali Nullmeyer, who had the 12th time in the first round, was unable to finish the second.
Skeleton: Clarke makes a strong start at the World Cup
On a track she was discovering for the first time, Hallie Clarke finished in sixth place in the opening of the IBSF World Cup on Saturday in PyeongChang, South Korea. The combined time of her two runs, 1:48.67, left her just 0.13 seconds off the podium and a quarter of a second away from victory, won by Great Britain’s Amelia Coltman.
“I am very satisfied with my race. I was a little frustrated after the first run, but I managed to put it all together for the final run, setting a personal best time which allowed me to move up a few places. It’s a much stronger start to the season than last year, so I’m very excited to continue this momentum,” said Clarke.
In a second race on Sunday, Hallie Clarke finished in 14th place, one place behind experienced teammate Jane Channell, who had taken 11th position the day before.
At just 20 years old, Clarke made history earlier this year by becoming the youngest women’s skeleton world champion, and only the second Canadian to win the title, 21 years after Michelle Kelly in 2003. IBSF World Cup will now move to Yanqing, China, where the women’s and men’s skeleton events will take place on Saturday on the track used in the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games.
Tennis: Canadians leave the Billie Jean King Cup in the quarter-finals
The reigning Billie Jean King Cup champions were eliminated in the quarter-finals against Great Britain in Malaga, Spain.
During the first match of the match, Rebecca Marino lost in two sets (6-0, 7-5) against Emma Raducanu, champion of the US Open 2021. Leylah Annie Fernandez, ranked 31st in the world, did not couldn’t keep Canadian hopes alive, losing 6-1, 6-4 to Katie Boulter, 24th in the WTA rankings. The doubles match was therefore not played.
Although the women’s team is eliminated, the men’s team continues its journey in the Davis Cup, also in Malaga. The quarter-final against Germany is scheduled for Wednesday. The team includes Denis Shapovalov, Gabriel Diallo, Alexis Galarneau, Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil.
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