Ivanie Blondin
Ivanie Blondin, born in 1990, started her sport career as a short track skater at the Gloucester concordes skating club. There she competed together with Vincent De Haitre for a place in the Olympic game in Vancouver in 2010. When she failed to be selected she was so disappointed that she wanted to quit skating. However, her coach at the club recommended her to switch to long track speed skating. She suggests afterwards that “ this was the best decision that I could have ever made.” From 2014 she represented Canada on the Olympic winter games and participated in the long distance event, the mass start and the team pursuit.
Although she was very disappointed about the fact that she was not successful enough in short track speed skating, she profitted nevertheless considerably from this esperience because she was more familiar with competing with several skaters at the same time in the track than the all time long track speed skaters. That is probably also the reason why she was especially succesful on the mass start. In total she won 7 medals on the mass start during the World championships and the Olympic games which is more than all other female skaters in the mass start except for Irene Schoten who also won 7 medals in this dicipline of long track speed skating. They were undoubtly the best in this diciplines so far.
In the world championships she won in 2015 her first medal (silver) on the mass start. In 2016 she won the mass start. In 2017 she won the bronze medal on the 5000m. In 2019 she won again the silver medal on the mass start and in 2020 the gold medal. Although she won only one medal (silver) in the different distances at the world chapionships in 2020, nevertheless her results were so good on all distances that she ended up on the second positionin the alround ranking.
Often she won the mass starts with a very fast sprint at the end of the race like in the video below
In the world championships she won in 2015 her first medal (silver) on the mass start. In 2016 she won the mass start. In 2017 she won the bronze medal on the 5000m. In 2019 she won again the silver medal on the mass start and in 2020 the gold medal. Although she won only one medal (silver) in the different distances at the world chapionships in 2020, nevertheless her results were so good on all distances that she ended up on the second positionin the alround ranking.
Often she won the mass starts with a very fast sprint at the end of the race like in the video below
2021 and 2022 were her most successful years. In 2021 she won during the world championships the silver medal on the mass star and the Team pursuit while she won during the Olympic games gold on the team pursuit and silver on the mass start. She cloud not blame herself for not winning this race because Irene Schouten was in that year at the top of het career.