Key takeaways:
- Ottawa’s Isabelle Weidemann gets her 3rd medal in Beijing.
- Team Canada’s Isabelle Weidemann, Valerie Maltais, and Ivanie Blondin respond after winning the gold medal and putting an Olympic record in the speedskating women’s team plan finals on Tuesday in Beijing.
Canadian Women’s speedskating team wins the gold medal:
Canada’s Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin, and Valérie Maltais placed a new Olympic record to triumph the gold medal in women’s squad pursuit in long track speed skating in Beijing.
The Canadians defeat defending Olympic champions Japan’s Ayano Sato, Miho Tagaki, and Nana Tagaki in Tuesday’s scenic final at the National Speed Skating Oval. Canada assigned a time of two minutes and 53.44 seconds, while Japan ended in 3.04.47. Japan enjoyed a slight lead with a half lap to go, but Nana Takagi failed her balance coming through the last turn and slammed into the padding, letting Canada move to the victory. Takagi was in tears after striking the finish line and was instantly soothed by her sister Miho Takagi and Sato.
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“We are still thinking, is this real? We knew we had a powerful team; we could put a strain on Japan and all the other strong squads today. I don’t know if we’d thought regarding this possible result,” Weidemann stated. Source – cbc.ca
Weidemann, a 26-year-old from Ottawa, leads all Canadian athletes in medals at the 2022 Olympics, having earlier won the respective silver and bronze in the 5,000m and 3,000m. She becomes only the second Canadian long-track speedskater to beat more than two medals at a single Olympics. Cindy Klassen succeeded five in 2006 in Turin, Italy.
