Isabelle Weidemann is determined to repeat as Olympic champion with fellow Canadian speed skaters Ivanie Blondin and Valerie Maltais in women’s team pursuit, but the long track veteran isn’t simply seeking a medal from the experience in Milan Cortina.
While preparing for her third Winter Olympics, the 30-year-old is mindful of “new faces” dotting Canada’s roster of 15 athletes – eight women, seven men – looking to help the team improve on its five-medal haul four years ago in Beijing.
“I’ve changed a lot as an athlete and as a person these past four years,” Weidemann, from Ottawa, said in a statement released by Speed Skating Canada, which unveiled the Canadian team Thursday alongside the Canadian Olympic Committee. I’m approaching these Games with a veteran’s mindset.
“We’ve got a lot of new faces with a lot of energy, and I’m really proud to be part of this group.”
Weidemann, who was Canada’s flag-bearer for the closing ceremony at the 2022 Games in China after also earning individual silver and bronze, plans to take on more of a leadership role in Italy next month and “make sure the next generation of athletes feels supported.”
Maltais, 35, is gearing up for her fifth Winter Games and second in long track after representing Canada on the short-track squad in 2010 (Vancouver), 2014 (Sochi, Russia) and 2018 (Pyeongchang, South Korea).
The native of La Baie, Que., said she gets “emotional” competing for her country and has many learned lessons on her Olympic journey since Vancouver.
“Representing Canada for the fifth time at the Olympic Games is not something I could have believed possible,” Maltais said. “I still feel excited, possibly more than before my first Games. I want to make the most of this, for myself and with Team Canada.”
Canada’s Weidemann captures World Cup speed skating silver in Heerenveen
Weidemann, Maltais and Blondin will carry plenty of momentum into these Games, having combined for eight individual World Cup medals this season (gold, four silver, three bronze) while reaching the podium three times in team pursuit and coming away with a victory and two silver medals.
Teammate Beatrice Lamarche captured her first World Cup medal at the season-opening event in November, grabbing women’s 1,000-metre bronze in Salt Lake City. In Milan Cortina, the Quebec City athlete will lead a group of Olympic rookies, joined by sprinters Rose Laliberte-Roy and Carolina Hillier, along with distance specialist Laura Hall.
The Canadian men will be led by Olympic medallists Ted-Jan Bloemen (10,000m gold in Pyeongchang) and Laurent Dubreuil (2022 silver in the 1,000).
Bloemen, a 39-year-old former world record holder, also collected 5,000m silver in South Korea but was held off the podium in Beijing. This season, the Calgary native is the lone Canadian man to pick up a World Cup medal with 5,000 silver in Salt Lake City.
The 33-year-old Dubreuil will arrive in Milan Cortina as one of Canada’s most successful male speed skaters, having earned over 50 medals on the World Cup circuit.
“I still feel on top of [my] game and I still believe in my [medal] chances,” said the Levis, Que., native, “but beyond the medals I want to offer my best race ever and we’ll see where that leads me.”
Antoine Gelinas-Beaulieu of Sherbrooke, Que., returns to the Olympic stage following his 2022 debut while sprinters Cedrick Brunet and Anders Johnson will make their first appearance at the Games with middle-distance skaters David La Rue and Daniel Hall.
La Rue, from Saint-Lambert, Que., secured his Olympic spot in the men’s 1,500 in Quebec City earlier this month at a last-chance qualifier.
“Qualifying in front of my family and friends, people who were really involved in my athletic journey, makes it even more memorable,” said the 27-year-old.
Canada’s team includes five athletes with Olympian parents:
Canadian long track speed skaters have picked up 42 Olympic medals, the country’s greatest total in any winter sport, since the first Games in 1924 in Chamonix, France.
“[This year’s] athletes combine explosive speed, precise technique and mental toughness, allowing them to dominate every stride on the international long track rink,” said former Olympic moguls skier Jennifer Heil, Canada’s chef de mission for Milan Cortina.
“Soak in every moment, feel the adrenaline and make the most of this Olympic experience.”
