Speedskaters lose Omicron race

Team of 16 chosen based on rankings after COVID forces events to cancel

CALGARY Olympic champion Ted-Jan Bloemen and world champion Laurent Dubreuil lead a Canadian long-track speedskating team chosen without trials into Beijing’s Winter Olympics next month.

The 16 skaters were selected based on rankings from four World Cup events in November and December.

A planned skate-off for the final Olympic berths at Quebec City’s new indoor oval Dec. 27-31 was cancelled due to the surge of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in that province.

Eight men and eight women will represent Canada at Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval, just short of the maximum quota of nine athletes per gender per country.

Speed Skating Canada looked into hosting a skate-off at Calgary’s Olympic Oval, but delaying it until January felt risky, chief executive officer Susan Auch said.

“Once we realized the speed this variant was moving in Canada, it really did not seem feasible to move it to another place at all, and cancelling was the safest option for our whole Olympic team,” Auch said Tuesday during a video conference.

Bloemen, from Calgary, is the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s 10,000 metres and Dubreuil, of Levis, Que., won last year’s 500 metres at the world championship.

The skaters began isolating themselves Jan. 10 ahead of the team’s Jan. 26 departure for China. Anyone travelling to Beijing for the Olympic Games must produce two negative pre-departure tests to board a plane.

The speedskating competition starts Feb. 5 with the women’s 3,000 metres.

“It can add a little bit of stress,” said Ivanie Blondin, who will compete in her third Olympic Games. “I was actually just told, the best we can do as athletes is just focus on the task we need to do and try not to stress about the things on the outside.

“I think once we’ll all be in China, it’ll be a little more comfortable.”

Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann, both from Ottawa, and Valérie Maltais of Saguenay, Que., are medal contenders in team pursuit.

Marsha Hudey of White City, Sask.; Calgary’s Brooklyn McDougall; Winnipeg’s Heather McLean; Maddison Pearman of Ponoka, Alta.; and Alexa Scott of Clandeboye, Man., round out the women’s contingent.

Toronto’s Jordan Belchos; Graeme Fish of Moose Jaw, Sask.; Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu of Sherbrooke, Que.; Connor Howe of Canmore, Alta.; Winnipeg’s Tyson Langelaar; and Calgary’s Gilmore Junio complete the men’s team.