Canadian speed skater Maltais wins World Cup bronze in Germany
Native of Saguenay, Que., finished race with time of 3:59.920
Canadian long-track speed skater Valérie Maltais claimed her third individual medal of the season on Saturday, grabbing bronze in the women’s 3000m event at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Inzell, Germany.
The 35-year-old completed the race with a time of three minutes and 59.920 seconds, just edging out Kazakhstan’s Nadezhda Morozova (4:00.198) for the final spot on the podium.
She was dominated by Norwegian Ragne Wiklund in the race, who set a new track record and personal best of 3:54.74 to take home the gold. The Netherlands’ Joy Beune secured silver with a time of 3:56.960.
"I'm happy with my performance today. It was a really consistent race and I feel that I skated well," said Maltais. "I knew Ragne was going to start very quickly, so we emphasized that in my race plan."
"I'm starting my recovery phase after a successful training camp in Spain, so this is a good sign considering I haven't yet reached my peak. Definitely a positive result heading into the Olympics."
Maltais now boasts five World Cup podium finishes in individual distances, all in the 3000m. She achieved her best World Cup result in Salt Lake City, U.S., earlier this season, finishing second ahead of Wiklund in the November event.
The native of Saguenay, Que., qualified for her fifth Olympic Games earlier this winter. The women’s 3000m will take place on Feb. 7.
With files from The Canadian Press
