Valérie Maltais and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu finish just off the Mass Start podium in fourth placeOBIHIRO, JAPAN – It was a golden start to the 2023-24 international season for Canada’s Ivanie Blondin, who captured gold in the Mass Start at the first ISU World Cup Speed Skating stop of the campaign in Obihiro, Japan. Teammate Valérie Maltais, who captured her first World Cup medal in the Mass Start last season in Poland, finished just outside of medal contention in fourth place (8:26.05). It was also the 33-year-old’s second career Mass Start medal from Obihiro, having previously won gold in 2014. On the men’s side, Sherbrooke’s Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu narrowly missed the podium in his return to the Mass Start. Valérie was fourth, so we’re not far off from having that happen.” Ivanie Blondin“I’m happy with how I raced today’s Mass Start.
