The final full day of the Beijing Winter Olympics saw Canada win its fifth speed skating medal of the 2022 Games and advance in the top three of the four-man bobsleigh competition.
Here’s what you may have missed from the overnight competition during Day 15.
Canada’s Ivanie Blondin won the silver medal in the women’s mass start speed skating final, a redemption after she fell in the semifinals at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang.
Blondin, who won her semifinal heat, was strong throughout the gruelling 16-lap race and managed to pull to the front for the final laps.
She looked like she was going to cross the finish line first, only for Irene Schouten of the Netherlands to overtake her in the final seconds to claim the gold. Blondin was less than a second behind.
Fellow Canadian Valerie Maltais came in sixth place in the final, after finishing seventh in her semifinal heat.
In the men’s mass start final, Jordan Belchos finished in 13th place while fellow Canadian Antoine Gelinas-Beaulieu came in 15th overall.
Canada’s Ivanie Blondin celebrates her silver medal in the women’s mass start speedskating final at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Saturday, February 19, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson.
The four-man Canadian team led by Justin Kripps secured the bronze medal position after the first two runs of competition, with a combined time of 1:57.38.
Trending Stories
‘Freedom convoy’ organizer Chris Barber to be released on bail
Ottawa police arrest over 100 as tense convoy standoff continues
The two other Canadian teams led by Christopher Spring and Taylor Austin finished 11th and 21st, respectively. Both teams moved up one spot from their first runs.
The teams move on to the third run on Sunday, aiming to qualify for the fourth and final run later in the day and a chance for a medal.
Justin Kripps, Ryan Sommer, Cam Stones and Benjamin Coakwell, of Canada, slide during the 4-man heat 1 at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky).
Canada’s three skiers were unable to clinch a medal in the men’s freeski halfpipe.
Noah Bowman got closest with a fourth-place finish and a best score of 84.75 in his second run. A stumble on the third run ensured he would not get a spot on the podium.
Brendan Mackay nearly had a shot of getting into the top three with a promising third run, but fell on his final trick attempt and was forced to settle for ninth place with a best score of 65.5.
Simon d’Artois had two bad runs but improved in the third with a score of 63.75, which put him in 10th place.
Many skiers in the final commented after their runs on the high winds impacting the course. The winds also led to the alpine mixed team parallel slalom event getting postponed with just one day left in the Games.
Canada’s Noah Bowman competes in the freestyle men’s ski halfpipe finals during the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, in Zhangjiakou, China, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick.
Canada’s Olivier Leveille and Remi Drolet finished 27th and 35th, respectively, in the men’s 30-kilometre mass start free finals.
The event was postponed an hour and shortened from 50 kilometres due to high winds.
Beijing Olympics: Canada takes home silver and bronze in freeski halfpipe, silver in speed skating
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
