Six-hundredths of a second.
The difference between gold and silver for Canadian speedskater Ivanie Blondin came down to the final straightaway sprint after 16 laps in the womenB次元官网网址檚 mass start Saturday at the Beijing Olympics.
Blondin was neck and neck with Irene Schouten of the Netherlands. The Dutch skater narrowly edged the Canadian by a toe at the finish line in the final speedskating event at the Ice Ribbon.
The 31-year-old from Ottawa captured her second medal of the Games after winning gold in the team pursuit with Isabelle Weidemann and Val茅rie Maltais.
B次元官网网址淚t is nice to finally get an individual medal. It has been a long and winding road for me,B次元官网网址� said Blondin, who fell in her semifinal of the womenB次元官网网址檚 mass start at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. B次元官网网址淚 am just really happy at this point to bring a medal back for my country.B次元官网网址�
Maltais, who led most of the opening laps of the mass start race and momentarily at the end, finished sixth.
The two Canadians were part of an extremely dense pack with two laps to go, setting up the sprint finish.
Maltais broke away again before Blondin and Schouten made their move from the outside.
Blondin led the final lap until the last few metres, when Schouten sprang ahead at the finish line.
ItalyB次元官网网址檚 Francesca Lollobrigida took bronze.
In the menB次元官网网址檚 mass start shortly before, the Canadians did not have the same success as the women.
TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Jordan Belchos was 13th and Antoine G茅linas-Beaulieu of Sherbrooke, Que., came in 15th. Bart Swings of Belgium won gold.
Earlier in Zhangjiakou, Noah Bowman narrowly missed a spot on the podium in the menB次元官网网址檚 freeski halfpipe, finishing fourth.
The Canadian scored 84.25 points in his first run and an 84.75 on his second run before falling in his third. He missed bronze by two points.
The 29-year-old from Calgary was fifth in 2014 in Sochi and again in 2018 in Pyeongchang.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 definitely tough. I was here to give it everything I had and I can confidently say I did that,B次元官网网址� said Bowman. B次元官网网址淪o IB次元官网网址檓 proud of myself but itB次元官网网址檚 really hard to be here and off the podium again.B次元官网网址�
Nico Porteous gave New Zealand its second gold in Beijing with his winning score of 93. David Wise of the United States took silver with 90.75. Fellow American Alex Ferreira scored 86.75. All three of the medal-winning scores came from the first run.
CalgaryB次元官网网址檚 Brendan Mackay was ninth with a score of 65.50 in his Olympic debut. Simon DB次元官网网址橝rtois of Whistler, B.C., was 10th with a 63.75.
Strong winds at the Genting Snow Park made it difficult to land high-scoring tricks.
B次元官网网址淐onditions were really tough and itB次元官网网址檚 frustrating that we donB次元官网网址檛 quite get to show the world our top level of competition here,B次元官网网址� said Bowman.
Nearby at the Zhangjiakou National Cross Country Centre, the weather also affected the menB次元官网网址檚 mass start.
The ski race was reduced from 50 to 30 kilometres, with the wind blasting and the temperature hovering around minus-18 C.
Olivier L茅veill茅 from Sherbrooke, Que., was the top Canadian in 27th. R茅mi Drolet of Rossland, B.C., finished 35th. RussiaB次元官网网址檚 Alexander Bolshunov took home the gold in 1:11:32.7.
Over in Yanqing, CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Justin Kripps was in third place midway through the four-man bobsled competition.
Kripps, of Summerland, B.C., teamed with Ryan Sommer of White Rock, B.C.; Cam Stones of Whitby, Ont.; and Benjamin Coakwell of Moose Jaw, Sask., to post a two-run time of 1:57.38.
B次元官网网址淚t was pretty good execution. The boys pushed well, loaded clean and drove pretty well, so I was pretty happy,B次元官网网址� Kripps said. B次元官网网址�(WeB次元官网网址檙e) going to look to come out and do the same thing tomorrow (Sunday).B次元官网网址�
Christopher Spring of Priddis, Alta., piloted his sled to 11th, while Taylor Austin of Lethbridge, Alta., was 21st.
German sleds were in the top two positions, with Francesco Friedrich posting a time of 1:57.00 and Johannes Lochner coming in a mere 0.03 seconds behind.
Kripps and Friedrich shared the gold medal in the two-man event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
In pairs skating, Canadians Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro finished in 10th, while Eric Radford and Vanessa James were 12th.
It was a comeback performance in the free skate for Radford and James, who emerged from retirement to team up last spring after skating together on the set of B次元官网网址淏attle of the Blades.B次元官网网址�
While James fell on the landing of a throw, they performed with confidence and ended with smiles.
B次元官网网址淭oday, the flip didnB次元官网网址檛 go, but weB次元官网网址檙e still a very new couple,B次元官网网址� James said. B次元官网网址淭o go out there and skate our hearts out is a huge accomplishment. And to have enjoyed it and trust our training, ourselves and each other is huge within 11 months.B次元官网网址�
Radford, who previously won three medals with partner Meagan Duhamel and is the oldest skater in the field at 37, said this Olympics was less about winning and more about showing what was possible.
B次元官网网址淚 have each colour of Olympic medals. I have two world titles,B次元官网网址� Radford said. B次元官网网址淲hen it comes to that, we donB次元官网网址檛 have that to prove, but we have to prove it to ourselves.B次元官网网址�
Moore-Towers, from St. Catharines, Ont., and Marinaro, from Sarnia, Ont., were sixth at last yearB次元官网网址檚 world championships and had been hoping to crack the top six in Beijing. They fell short of that goal but improved from 13th after the short program to the top 10 in whatB次元官网网址檚 expected to be their last Olympics.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not our best today for sure, not a career best by any means,B次元官网网址� Moore-Towers said. B次元官网网址淏ut it was a big fight today. ItB次元官网网址檚 been a great career for us. We fought for everything.B次元官网网址�
In womenB次元官网网址檚 bobsled, CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Christine de Bruin and brakewoman Kristen Bujnowski, who entered the final heats in fourth place, dropped one spot to fifth with a time of 4:06.37.
Fellow Canadians Cynthia Appiah and Dawn Richardson Wilson finished eighth at 4:07.52 despite flipping their sled on the final corner of their third run and crossing the finish on their side.
Neither slider was seriously injured.
B次元官网网址淚 know that crash looked a lot worse than it was. I was more upset that the crash happened than anything. Got a little bit of a shoulder bruise, but all things considered it could have been worse and IB次元官网网址檓 glad thatB次元官网网址檚 the worst of it,B次元官网网址� said Appiah. B次元官网网址淣o one has ever crashed in that spot, and I hate that thatB次元官网网址檚 now under my belt.B次元官网网址�
A third Canadian team of pilot Melissa Lotholz and Sara Villani finished 12th.
German pilots Laura Nolte and Mariama Jamanka finished 1-2 in the event, while American Elana Meyers Taylor claimed the bronze.
The Canadian Press
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