HAMAR, Norway – Double Beijing medallist Ivanie Blondin is the top Canadian competitor so far at the 2022 world speedskating championships.

The Ottawa native, is currently in 10th place midway through the women’s allround competition after she finished in sixth and 11th place in the 500-metre and 3,000-metre races, respectively on Saturday.

Japan’s Miho Takagi, who won four medals at the Beijing Games, leads the allround competition,

Blondin won a silver medal in the Olympic mass start race and a gold in the team pursuit along with teammates Isabelle Weidemann and Valérie Maltais.

Weidemann, who was Canada’s closing-ceremony flagbearer for her triple-medal Olympics, is in Hamar participating. Maltais is, however, and she finds herself in 12th place in the allround standings.

On the men’s side, Canadians Ted-Jan Bloemen and Jordan Belchos find themselves in 18th and 20th place, respectively, in the allround contest.

Both the men’s and women’s allround competitions will conclude on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2022.