Denny Morrison, 2 other Canadian speed skaters miss World Cup podium

Denny Morrison’s fifth-place performance was the best result by a Canadian speed skater at Saturday’s World Cup event in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

The Fort St. John, B.C. native stopped the clock in one minute 9.35 seconds in the men’s 1,000-metre race, won by Kjeld Nuis (1:08.76) of the Netherlands.

Six days ago, Morrison earned a bronze medal in the 1,500 in Hamar, Norway. It was the 29-year-old’s 40th individual World Cup medal and first this season, according to Speed Skating Canada.

Men’s World Cup leader Pavel Kulizhnikov fell short of a sprint double Saturday, finishing second behind Nuis, with Germany’s Nico Ihle third.

Morrison’s teammate, Laurent Dubreuil, from Levis, Que., was sixth in the 500 on Saturday in a time of 35.21 seconds.

"It wasn't my best race. I was rusty," said Dubreuil, who had not skated at a World Cup since mid-December. "But finishing sixth still is a good start for this one-month trip. I'm looking forward to working on certain aspects and improving in time for the world championships next week."

Dubreuil hasn't finished outside the top 10 in nine races on the World Cup circuit this season, collecting a silver medal and three bronze.

Kulizhnikov won in 34.93, besting Artur Was of Poland by four hundredths of a second. Ihle was third.

In the women’s 1,000, Regina’s Kali Christ placed seventh (1:16.90).

In a news release, Christ said she was happy with her performance.

"I still have a lot of work to do on my openers," she said, "but things are coming along well in terms of my speed, where I'm able to sustain it during races in a much better way than I did in the fall."

American Heather Richardson won the 500 and 1,000, capturing the latter race in one minute 14.87 seconds. Teammate Brittany Bowe was second and Li Qishi of China third.

In the men's 500 B race, Alex Boisvert-Lacroix of Sherbrooke, Que., won his World Cup season debut in 35.37 seconds.