Canadian speedskaters take silver in women's team sprint at world championship

Canada's Brooklyn McDougall, Beatrice Lamarche and Ivanie Blondin won silver in the women's team sprint Thursday to open the ISU world speedskating championship.

Calgary's McDougall, Quebec City's Lamarche and Ottawa's Blondin finished second in one minute 27.23 seconds in their first race together as a trio.

McDougall was a late replacement for Carolina Hiller of Prince George, B.C., who was unavailable to compete.

"We have a lot of trust in Brooklyn and we skate well together," Lamarche said. "We're all experienced skaters in this discipline and did good today even with the difficult circumstances."

WATCH | Canada claims women's team sprint silver:

Canadian women capture team sprint silver at speed skating worlds

A Dutch team won gold in 1:25.57 and a Polish team won bronze in 1:27.80.

In long-track competition, Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Que., was the top Canadian in sixth place in the women's 3,000 metres.

Calgary's Ted-Jan Bloemen was seventh in the men's 5,000.

Competition continues on Friday.