Canadian Dubreuil clinches World Cup 500-metre speedskating overall title

HEERENVEEN, Netherlands – Canadian Laurent Dubreuil was fourth in the season-ending men’s 500-metre World Cup speedskating event but it was still enough to secure him the overall title Sunday.

Dubreuil, of Levis, Que., finished atop the standings with 614 points, ahead of Japan’s Tatsuya Shinhama (586).

“My goal this weekend was to continue to defend my position at the top of the overall classification,” the Canadian said. “I had a good lead before this competition and knew that my preparation has not been ideal.

“It has been a goal my whole career to achieve first place in the World Cup classification and I am very proud to have accomplished it this year. It’s really a Cinderella story ending to a difficult few weeks.”

Connor Howe of Canmore, Alta., was third in the men’s 1,500-metre race in one minute 44.393 seconds. That left Howe a career-best second in the overall standings with 256 points.

“It was definitely special to skate in front of such a big crowd, especially since that hasn’t been possible the last two seasons,” Howe said. “Finishing this season in second overall means the consistency was there for me, which is motivating and exciting for next year.”

Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin was fourth in the women’s mass start to finish second overall with 578 points. Valerie Maltais of Saguenay, Que., was seventh in the race and fifth overall.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2022.