Canadian speedskater Laurent Dubreuil world champion in men s 500 metres
Gold medallist Canada s Laurent Dubreuil celebrates after the men s 500 meters race of the World Championships Speedskating Single Distance at the Thialf ice arena in Heerenveen, northern Netherlands, Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Peter Dejong February 12, 2021 - 12:02 PM
HEERENVEEN - Canadian speedskater Laurent Dubreuil is the men s world 500-metre champion after claiming the title Friday.
Dubreuil posted a winning time of 34.398 seconds in Heerenveen s Thialf arena to beat Russian rival and world record-holder Pavel Kulizhnikov by .14 seconds.
âMy race was just as I had imagined it, Dubrueil said. It was really important for me to have a good start and I did just that. My first 300 metres was pretty good. In the last corner, I lost my balance a little bit, but at that speed it s completely normal.