Ivanie Blondin takes mass start silver in final Olympic race
Ivanie Blondin has ended her illustrious Olympic speed skating career on the podium.
For the second straight Olympic Games, the 35-year-old originally from Ottawa has taken silver in the women’s mass start.
In her fourth Games, she has claimed her fourth career medal. On Saturday at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, she showed why she’s considered one of the best mass start speed skaters of all time.
Blondin was tactically brilliant throughout the 16-lap race. She spent the majority of the race waiting in the pack, alternating between the fourth and fifth position.
With two laps to go, she moved into the third position, and despite being nearly bumped in a shuffle for position coming into the final lap, she stood her ground to make it a sprint finish for silver.
READ: Blondin wins second straight Olympic silver medal in women’s mass start
The eventual gold medallist, Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands, moved ahead of the group around the final bend, but Blondin kept the jets on to win the race for second against Mia Manganello of the U.S.
“I told Marijke right before the race, this is our last dance. Let’s go out there and enjoy it,” said Blondin. “I love competing against these girls, and what we have is very special, and I’m going to cherish those moments for the rest of my life.”
In 2022, Blondin was edged out of the gold in the mass start by Irene Schouten of the Netherlands by 0.06 seconds. It was clear she had the gold medal on her mind in this race.
“In the last lap of the final, I made a little bit of a technical error. I wanted to go a little slower than in Beijing because I wasn’t patient and I got out of the line.
“I was a little bit too patient today and that’s what cost [me].”
Nonetheless, today’s silver is another reason why Blondin will go down as one of the great mass start skaters of all time. To go along with the two Olympic silvers, she has won eight medals at the ISU World Single Distances Championships, and three overall ISU World Cup titles.
When she crossed the line, she thought about what is likely the end of her career in speed skating.
“[I’m] a little bit emotional, it’s my last Olympic race. I’m just grateful for the career I’ve had.
“[I am] just ready to close that chapter and move on to other things. I’ve dedicated a lot of my time and energy to this sport and I’m very grateful for the results that it’s given me, and the people that have surrounded me.
“At a certain point, it’s hard being an athlete. You’re always away, and we’ve got the animals at home.
“Our dogs are getting older, so it’s getting harder and harder to be away from home and just feel a little guilty. It’s time to close that chapter.”
Blondin shared her final moments on the ice with longtime teammate Valérie Maltais.
Maltais also skated a spectacular race. She recovered from a fall in the early stages of the race and turned things around to finish in fifth, despite being in obvious pain.
On the men’s side, Dutch skater Jorrit Bergsma won in a landslide. The lone Canadian in the final, Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu finished sixth for Canada’s best ever Olympic result in the men’s mass start.
Blondin’s silver will go down as the best individual result for a Canadian speed skater at Milano Cortina 2026.
A fitting ending for one of Team Canada’s most accomplished athletes.