Laurent Dubreuil is back on the Olympic podium after a gritty performance on Saturday.
The Canadian speedskater, who has been way off the pace in World Cup action this season, won bronze in the men’s 500 metres on Saturday in Milan.
Dubreuil took the lead with five pairs to go when he posted an Olympic-record time of 34.26 seconds.
But three pairs later, American star and eventual gold medallist Jordan Stolz (33.77 seconds) and silver medallist Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands (33.88 seconds) both beat out Dubreuil.
Stolz and de Boo also won gold and silver, respectively, in the men’s 1,000 metres. Dubreuil was eighth.
The 33-year-old Dubreuil, from Levis, Que., won silver in the 1,000 metres at the 2022 Olympics and finished fourth in the 500 metres, missing out on bronze by just 0.03 seconds..
But he did not reach the podium in any of this season’s 10 World Cup races at 500 metres.
Dubreuil’s bronze is Canada’s eighth medal of the Olympics — three silver, five bronze.
It marks Canada’s first Olympic medal in the men’s 500 metres since Jeremy Wotherspoon won silver in 1998 in Nagano, Japan.
Dubreuil is an eight-time medallist (three gold, two silver, three bronze) at the World Single Distances Championships.
