Weekend Roundup: Big World Cup breakthroughs for Kaylie Buck & Naomi Urness
It was a weekend of podiums and breakthroughs as Canadian athletes competed across the globe in a jam-packed winter sports schedule.
The women’s long track speed skating team led the charge with a three-medal haul, highlighted by a gold medal in the team pursuit. On snow, freestyle skier Naomi Urness soared to her first World Cup victory, while alpine snowboarder Kaylie Buck secured her first World Cup podium.
From the halfpipe in China to the sliding tracks in Lillehammer and Utah, here’s a roundup of some exciting pre-Olympic performances from this weekend.
Long Track Speed Skating: Team Canada women shine in Hamar
Team Canada captured three medals at the fourth stop of the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Hamar, Norway. This was the last World Cup to count towards the qualification of Olympic quota spots.
READ: Weidemann, Blondin each medal twice in Hamar
On Saturday, Isabelle Weidemann powered to silver in the women’s 3000m, finishing 0.35 behind Dutch winner Marijke Groenewoud. The result marked Weidemann’s second individual podium of the season, following her silver in the 5000m last weekend in Heerenveen. Valérie Maltais was just off the podium in fourth place. The two women are ranked second and third, respectively, in the World Cup standings for the long distances, which prequalifies them for Milano Cortina 2026, though Olympic team nominations won’t be made official until mid January.
On Sunday, they joined with Ivanie Blondin to win gold in the women’s team pursuit. They overcame a slow start to defeat their pair mates from the United States in the last 200m by just 0.09. It is Canada’s first World Cup victory in the women’s team pursuit since January 2024. The defending Olympic champions won a pair of silver medals earlier this season after not reaching the podium at all last season.
Blondin added to the medal haul as she jumped four positions in the final two laps to earn a bronze medal in the women’s mass start. It’s her second medal of the season, following a gold in Calgary. Maltais placed fifth in the race on Sunday. The two women are ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the World Cup standings.
Ted-Jan Bloemen finished fifth in the men’s 5000m to rank sixth overall in the men’s long distances, which is enough to prequalify him for his third Olympic Games.
Canada’s remaining Olympic quota spots will be filled at the Long Track Canada Cup taking place January 3-6 in Quebec City.
PGS Snowboard: First World Cup podium for Buck
Kaylie Buck delivered an amazing performance in the parallel giant slalom at the FIS Snowboard World Cup in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, finishing second for the first World Cup podium of her career. It was her first time finishing in the top 10 on the circuit.
The 25-year-old advanced through three rounds of head-to-head racing to get into the big final where she was defeated by Austria’s Sabine Payer after missing a gate. It had been three years since a Canadian stood on a World Cup PGS podium. Megan Farrell finished third in Cortina in December 2022.
Big Air: First World Cup win for Naomi Urness
Canadian freestyle skier Naomi Urness continued her incredible start to the FIS World Cup season. She reached the big air podium at a third straight competition, this time earning her first career World Cup victory in Steamboat, Colorado.
The 21-year-old from Mont-Tremblant posted a score of 156.25 points to finish ahead of Ukraine’s Kateryna Kotsar (152.50) and China’s Yang Ruyi (148.50). Urness finished second and third at the first two World Cup stops for big air.
There was also a snowboard big air World Cup in Steamboat. Juliette Pelchat finished fourth for a career-best result.
Halfpipe: Several Canadians in top 10 at World Cup opener
Team Canada delivered strong results to open the FIS World Cup season for ski halfpipe in Secret Garden, China. Amy Fraser (79.50) finished in fourth place with a good second run in the final. Cassie Sharpe (65.50) was two spots back in sixth place amid challenging weather conditions. Rachael Karker also advanced to the 10-woman final, but did not start. Reigning Olympic champion Eileen Gu of China won the event with a score of 91.75 ahead of Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin (90.25) and Australia’s Indra Brown (82.00).
On the men’s side, Dylan Marineau finished in seventh place.
Secret Garden also hosted the World Cup opener for snowboard halfpipe. Brooke D’Hondt was the top Canada in the women’s event, finishing sixth.
Snowboard Cross : Eliot Grondin starts season in small final
The snowboard cross season kicked off with its first FIS World Cup stage in Cervinia, Italy on Saturday. Eliot Grondin, the reigning world champion and two-time Crystal Globe winner, finished seventh overall after placing third in the small final.
Bobsleigh & Skeleton: Four top-8 finishes for Canadian sleds
Canadian bobsledders continued their preparations for Milano Cortina 2026 at the IBSF World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway.
In the women’s monobob, Melissa Lotholz finished sixth, 0.62 back of the winner. Cynthia Appiah was just 0.04 behind her to place eighth. Lotholz was also the top Canadian pilot in the two-woman event, finishing 10th with brakewoman Dawn Richardson Wilson.
In the second four-man race of the weekend, Taylor Austin, Shaq Murray-Lawrence, Yohan Esrick-Parkinson, and Mike Evelyn O’Higgins secured seventh place, 0.65 back of the winners. Pat Norton had driven his crew of Luka Stoikos, Mark Zanette, and Shane Ohrt to ninth place in the first four-man event.
The weekend kicked off with skeleton, which saw Hallie Clarke place sixth in the women’s event for the second straight World Cup. The next stop on the IBSF World Cup circuit will be next week in Sigulda, Latvia.
Ski Jumping: Abigail Strate maintains top 10 streak
Abigail Strate continued her strong season at the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in Klingenthal, Germany. She finished fifth and sixth in the two large hill events. She has placed in the top-10 in seven of eight World Cup events this season, which includes every large hill event. She ranks fourth in the overall World Cup standings.
Luge: Podulsky and Allan in top six again
At the FIL Luge World Cup in Park City, Utah, Beattie Podulsky and Kailey Allan finished sixth in women’s doubles. It is the second straight top-six performance for the rookie pairing. Last week, they finished fifth in the World Cup season opener in Winterberg, Germany.
“Being able to back last week’s result up with top six finishes on completely different tracks on back-to-back weekends feels huge for us,” said Podulsky. “It shows we’re adapting quicker, communicating better, and not panicking when things aren’t perfect. We’re definitely feeling more confident and more in sync each race.”
