Lamarche continues dream progression with fifth-place finish in 1000m event
It was an impressive Olympic debut for Team Canada’s Béatrice Lamarche on Monday at Milano Cortina 2026.
The 27-year-old placed fifth in the women’s 1000m long track speed skating competition. It’s Canada’s best result in the event at an Olympic Winter Games since Christine Nesbitt won gold at Vancouver 2010.
“So far, the Games have been much bigger than I could ever imagine, but it’s been a fantastic experience,” Lamarche said. “I’m very proud of myself for being able to perform when it matters.”
Lamarche was placed in the 14th of 15 pairings, going up against Japan’s Rio Yamada. The Canadian won her pairing with a time of 1:14.73 to push her into bronze medal position.
Lamarche had to watch as the final pairing of Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands and Japan’s Miho Takagi went head-to-head.
“I’m a realist,” Lamarche said. “With the last pair going after me, I knew that they were better than me. I knew that unless one of them fell, I would end up in fifth place. At that point, I was watching the race as a fan, I was excited to see who would win the race.”
Leerdam had a dominant performance, finishing with an Olympic record time of 1:12.31 to win gold. Takagi took the bronze with a time of 1:13.95.
Leerdam was the second skater of the day to break the Olympic record after her Dutch teammate, Femke Kok, broke it two pairings prior. Kok took the silver with a time of 1:12.59.
Lamarche said that skating after Kok’s Olympic record breaking skate didn’t intimidate her. Instead, it gave her a boost.
“I have never felt such an atmosphere in a competition. The Olympic record right before my pair showed me how fast the race was going to be, and instead of stressing me out, it gave me wings.”
Lamarche has been trending in the right direction heading into Milano Cortina 2026. She earned her first individual medal on the ISU World Cup circuit during the 2025-26 season, taking bronze in the 1000m with a personal best time of 1:12.77. The time was just short of Nesbitt’s Canadian record of 1:12.68.
“A year ago, I was ranking in 18th place at worlds, and I struggled to place in the top 15 at the World Cup. My progression from a year ago truly is a dream and I’m very proud of myself and of the journey that led me to today’s fifth place.”
The daughter of Canadian Olympic speed skater Benoît Lamarche, Beatrice has been skating since the age of five. She had made her World Cup debut in 2016 and participated in her first ISU World Single Distances Championships in 2020. Her career best individual results at the world championships were 12th place finishes in 1000m in 2021 and 1500m in 2023.
The Quebec City native isn’t done at Milano Cortina 2026. She’s also expected to compete in the women’s 500m and 1500m events.
Lamarche wasn’t the only Canadian making her Olympic debut the 1000m on Monday. Carolina Hiller-Donnelly finished 26th with a time of 1:17.15 while Rose Laliberté-Roy finished just behind her in 27th with a time of 1:17.50.
