Dubreuil wins 500 metre World Cup bronze to extend streak to seven straight podiums

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This article was published 03/12/2021 (1427 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SALT LAKE CITY – Short-track speedskater Laurent Dubreuil extended his streak of World Cup podiums in the men’s 500 metres on Friday, winning bronze at the Utah Olympic Oval.

Dubreuil of Levs, Que., has now achieved a podium result in the past seven 500 metres races in which he has competed on the World Cup circuit.

Despite being flagged for a false start, Dubreuil put forth a strong race and sat in second with a time of 34.099 following his pair.

Japan’s Yamato Matsui (34.048) and Wataru Morishige (34.091) took gold and silver.

Dubreuil’s biggest adversary so far this season, Tatsuya Shinhama of Japan, finished sixth in the race, widening the Canadian’s lead in the overall World Cup standings to 12 points.

A new world record was set in the men’s 5,000 metres at the high elevation Utah Olympic Oval when Nils van der Poel of Sweden completed the race in 6:01.566.

He bested the mark set by Calgary’s Ted-Jan Bloemen before the 2018 Olympic Games.

Bloemen finished eighth in the distance on Friday and sits second in the overall World Cup rankings behind van der Poel.

A trio of Canadian women also finished in the top 10 of the women’s 3,000 metres.

Ottawa’s Isabelle Weidemann found herself just off the podium in fourth, but still sits second in the overall World Cup rankings.

Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin and Valérie Maltais of Saguenay, Que., set new personal best times that put them in sixth and 10th, respectively.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2021.