HEERENVEEN, Netherlands - Canada opened the world speedskating championship with a pair of gold medals.
The men and women won the team sprints to kick off the four-day championship in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
Montreal's Chris Fiola, Laurent Dubreuil of L茅vis, Que., and Antoine G茅linas-Beaulieu of Sherbrooke, Que., took the men's event ahead of the host Dutch in second and the Norwegians in third.
Ottawa's Ivanie Blondin, Carolina Hiller of Prince George, B.C., and Calgary's Brooklyn McDougall claimed women's gold, followed by silver medallist United States and bronze medallist China.
Blondin, Hiller and McDougall took the lead for good after the first of three laps and finished in a winning time of one minute 26.29 seconds, .29 seconds ahead of the U.S. and 1.57 seconds clear of China.
With the win, the trio adds world championship gold to the three World Cup silver medals they captured earlier this season. It鈥檚 Canada鈥檚 second world championship podium in the women鈥檚 team sprint, having won silver back in 2019.
"Becoming world champion with Carolina and Ivanie is incredibly special," McDougall said. "We were so consistent all season, finishing second each World Cup. Upgrading to gold at the world championships was perfect. I will never forget this feeling with these girls."
The men's trio 鈥 which last skated together at the World Cup in Calgary in December 鈥 overcame a bit of a sloppy start to claim the top spot. Sitting third after the opening lap, G茅linas-Beaulieu caught up to his teammates and put forth a tremendous solo lap as the men secured gold in a time of 1:19.26, 0.41 second ahead of the host Dutch and .54 seconds ahead of the Norwegians.
"It's a great feeling to see your teammates give themselves body and soul, one after another, to finally give way to you," G茅linas-Beaulieu said. "Being a world champion in the team sprint is even more fun because I can share it with others. It's a race we'll remember for the rest of our lives.鈥
The team sprint isn't yet a part of the Olympic Games program.
Val茅rie Maltais of Saguenay, Que., was Canada鈥檚 top individual distance finisher on Thursday evening, earning a career-best fifth-place result in the women鈥檚 3,000 metres.
Racing continues Friday with men's and women's team pursuits and 500 metres.
This report by 好色tvwas first published March 2, 2023.
