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Ottawa’s Blondin wins second World Cup mass start gold of the season

Dec 4, 2016 | 1:15 PM

ASTANA, Kazakhstan — Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin won gold in the women’s mass start Sunday at an ISU World Cup long-track speedskating event.

Blondin won the race ahead of Japan’s Nana Takagi, whom she came in contact with in the last straight leading to the finish line. South Korea’s Bo-Reum Kim collected bronze.

This is Blondin’s second win in three Worlds Cups this season in this event which will make its Olympic debut at the 2018 Games.

“I was able to find my way between the two Dutch skaters and place myself in good position for the last stretch,” Blondin said. “Things were sketchy at the end, but I was able to defend my spot well, I was aggressive, I did what I had to do to win today’s race.”

In the men’s mass start, Jordan Belchos of Toronto was eliminated at the semifinal stage, where he finished 10th. Only the top eight skaters qualified for the final.

In other Canadian results, Heather McLean of Winnipeg was seventh in the women’s 500 metres while Laurent Dubreuil of Levis, Que., finished eighth in the men’s 500

In the men’s 1500, Vincent de Haitre of Ottawa, who won gold in Saturday’s 1000, finished 15th while Denny Morrison of Fort St. John, B.C., ended up in 20th.

In the women’s 1500, Ottawa’s Isabelle Weidemann was 15th and Brianne Tutt of Airdrie, Alta., was 16th.

The Canadian Press