The 2025 World Speed Skating Championships took place this past weekend in Hamar, Norway. Team Canada came away with four medals (two silver medals and two bronze medals).
Of the four medals, Canadian Olympic gold medalist Ivanie Blondin of Ottawa, Ontario won two medals in events that have Olympic status. She won silver in the women’s mass start on Sunday, and bronze in the women’s team pursuit on Friday. Blondin was also part of the women’s team sprint that won silver with Brooklyn McDougall of Calgary, Alberta and Beatrice Lamarche of Quebec City, Quebec on Thursday. However, it should be noted that women’s team sprint is not part of the Olympic Winter Games, and thus not given much priority by many European nations. The other Canadian medal was won by Connor Howe of Canmore, Alberta, who won bronze in the men’s 1500 metres on Sunday.
In the women’s team pursuit, Blondin teamed up with Canadian Olympic gold medalists Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Quebec and Isabelle Weidemann of Ottawa. Blondin, Maltais and Weidemann won gold in the women’s team pursuit at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. In Hamar, the Canadians had a third place time of 3:00.74. They reached the podium by 0.53 seconds over Germany, which had a fourth place time of 3:01.27. The Netherlands won the gold medal with a time of 2:56.09 and Japan won the silver medal with a time of 2:58.55. In the women’s mass start, Blondin placed behind gold medalist Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands and ahead of bronze medalist Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy.
In the men’s 1500 metres, Howe posted a third place time of 1:44.78. Peder Konshaug of Norway won the gold medal with a time of 1:44.64. Jordan Stolz of the United States won silver with a time of 1:44.71. Howe reached the podium by .09 seconds over Ning Zhongyan of China, who finished in fourth place with a time of 1:44,87. The medals for Howe, Blondin, Weidemann, and Maltais will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
