Maltais, Weidemann win World Cup speed skating medals in China

Canadian Olympic gold medalists Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Quebec and Isabelle Weidemann of Ottawa, Ontario each won a World Cup speed skating medal this past weekend in Beijing, China. In the women’s mass start on Sunday, Maltais won the silver medal, and in the women’s 3000 metres on Saturday, Weidemann won the bronze medal. Weidemann and Maltais were part of the Canadian team that won gold in the women’s team pursuit at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

In the women’s team pursuit, Maltais finished behind gold medalist Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands and ahead of bronze medalist Binyu Yang of China on the Beijing podium. In the World Cup women’s mass start standings, Maltais is in third place with 90 points. She is behind Groenewoud, the World Cup leader with 120 points, and Elisa Dul of the Netherlands, who is second with 91 points.

In the women’s 3000 metres, Weidemann had a third place time of 4:02.02. Ragne Wiklund of Norway won the gold medal with a time of 4:00.10. Jay Beune of the Netherlands won the silver medal with a time of 4:01.90. Weidemann reached the podium by 1.31 seconds as Merel Conijn of the Netherlands was in fourth place with a time of 4:03.33. Weidemann is in fourth place in the World Cup women’s 3000 metre standings with 80 points. The leader is Wiklund with 114 points. Beune is in second place with 102 points, and Canadian Olympic gold medalist Ivanie Blondin of Ottawa, Ontario is in third place with 94 points. Blondin won Olympic gold in the women’s team pursuit alongside Weidemann and Maltais at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. The silver medal for Maltais and the bronze medal for Weidemann will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.