Pride, trust in each other leads Canadian trio to another Olympic gold
To be the champs you have to beat the champs—and there was no beating the champs in the women’s team pursuit at Milano Cortina 2026.
The Canadian trio of Ivanie Blondin, Valérie Maltais, and Isabelle Weidemann skated to a gold medal win at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium on Day 11 of Milano Cortina 2026, defending the Olympic title they earned at Beijing 2022.
“I mean, it means the world,” said Blondin about winning a second straight gold medal in the event. “I wouldn’t want to be standing here with anyone else. I think that the trust that we have with this team is what made that happen.”
READ: Team Canada wins second straight Olympic gold medal in women’s team pursuit
That trust was evident in Tuesday’s final. The Canadians trailed early but showed no signs of panic. In the six-lap head-to-head race, Canada sat in second until the fourth lap, when they got faster than the Dutch trio that were starting to show signs of fatigue. Canada stayed in front until the end, winning gold by almost a full second.
Canada posted a time of 2:55.81 in the final, not quite reaching the Olympic record time of 2:53.44 they set at Beijing 2022. Netherlands finished with a time of 2:56.77 to take silver while Japan won bronze, racing to a time of 2:58.50 to defeat the United States by 3.5 seconds.
“I’m so proud of all the work that the three of us have done over the last four years,” said Weidemann. “We’re a very different team, I think, than in Beijing. We’ve overcome a lot and built this team from, I don’t know… we were rookies or babies going into 2022. I’m just so proud.”
While the Canadians were able to run back a first-place finish, a lot has changed in four years, explained Weidemann. The team has made adjustments to their strategy since Beijing, with one of the factors being their age. All three are in their early- to mid-30s, making them a team of “madames,” they joked.
There’s also the pressure of being the defending Olympic champions.
“We’ve talked about it, we knew there was some expectation,” said Maltais. “But defending a title, for us it was more like focusing on ourselves and what we could do to be the fastest each time. Try to execute the race that we would be proud of at the end, whatever the result would be.
“Gold, we have to be satisfied and happy with that,” laughed Maltais.
Blondin said that while there is added pressure, it was an “honour” to be on the starting line as the reigning gold medallists.
“It’s the same team, there’s some sense every single time we go to the line that we’re calm, collected and one unit. That’s very powerful. It gives us a lot of confidence going into every single race.”
The Canadians certainly showed confidence at Milano Cortina 2026. The three were the top team in Saturday’s quarterfinals, securing them a spot in the semifinals against the United States. Canada cruised past the Americans, finishing 4.22 seconds ahead of them, to earn a spot in Final A where they went up against a strong Netherlands team.
That Dutch team of Joy Beune, Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong and Marijke Groenewoud took gold in the women’s team pursuit at the 2025 ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships last March. Canada took the bronze after winning silver the year before and gold in 2023.
It’s been quite a run for this Canadian trio, who first skated together in 2018-19. The following season, the team won three ISU World Cup medals, including a gold, and added a bronze at the World Single Distances Championships. The year after they won silver at Worlds, a positive sign heading into their first Olympic Games as a team.
All three have impressive resumés in individual competition as well. Weidemann won 5000m silver and 3000m bronze in Beijing while Blondin won a silver in the mass start in 2022. Maltais, meanwhile, won a bronze in the 3000m earlier in these Games.
The three skating as individuals is impressive enough. The three together, though, has proven to be golden.
“I’m just so proud of our team,” said Maltais. “The last thing I tell the girls before going to the line is, ‘I’m really proud to go to the line with you girls’. I’m just trusting these girls.
“I’m like ‘let’s go skate six laps, no need to exchange lanes, and go home after.’ Just keeping it simple. We’ve been training super hard for this season. Going to the line and putting the power to the ice is just fun when you feel in good shape. It’s just like ‘let’s go and execute’ and see where we’re at.”
Where they’re at is, once again, at the top of the podium.
