Four Canadian skaters will make their World Championships debut alongside 12 Olympians at the Olympic Oval from February 15-18
CALGARY, ALBERTA – Canada’s top long track speed skaters will hit the ice at the Calgary Olympic Oval from February 15-18, as the city welcomes the ISU World Speed Skating Championships to town for the first time since 1998.
Nineteen Canadians will lace up their long blades to compete against the world’s best across 12 individual distances and four team events. National Team veterans such as Ivanie Blondin, Isabelle Weidemann, Valérie Maltais, Laurent Dubreuil and Ted-Jan Bloemen will race for the podium alongside World Championship rookies Alison Desmarais, Anders Johnson, Yankun Zhao and Jake Weidemann.
Canadian skaters look poised to reach the podium on home ice in Calgary next weekend. After winning seven World Championship medals last season in Heerenveen, the team captured an impressive 23 World Cup medals – 5 gold, 11 silver and 7 bronze – across six events this season, including four in Quebec City this past weekend.
A few Canadians also topped the overall World Cup rankings this season. Maltais was crowned Mass Start champion, while Bloemen (5000m/10000m), Dubreuil (500m) and Blondin (Mass Start) each finished second overall in their respective distances. Canada also earned the title of vice-champion in the women’s Team Pursuit thanks to performances from Maltais, Blondin, Weidemann and Béatrice Lamarche.
ISU World Speed Skating Championships
The full list of Canadian skaters, along with the individual and team distances they have been selected to participate in, can be found below:
- Abigail McCluskey (Penticton, BC)
- 1500m
- Alison Desmarais (Vanderhoof, BC)
- 1000m
- Carolina Hiller (Prince George, BC)
- 500m
- Team Sprint
- Heather Carruthers (Winnipeg, MB)
- 500m
- Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, ON)
- 3000m
- 5000m
- Team Pursuit
- Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, ON)
- 1500m
- 3000m
- Mass Start
- Team Sprint
- Team Pursuit
- Maddison Pearman (Ponoka, AB)
- 1000m
- Team Sprint
- Valérie Maltais (La Baie, QC)
- 1500m
- 3000m
- 5000m
- Mass Start
- Team Pursuit
- Anders Johnson (Burnaby, BC)
- Team Sprint
- Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu (Sherbrooke, QC)
- 1500m
- Mass Start
- Team Sprint
- Team Pursuit
- Connor Howe (Canmore, AB)
- 1000m1500m
- Team Pursuit
- Graeme Fish (Moose Jaw, SK)
- 10,000m
- Hayden Mayeur (Toronto, ON)
- Team Pursuit
- Jake Weidemann
- Mass Start
- Jordan Belchos (Toronto, ON)
- 5000m
- Laurent Dubreuil (Lévis, QC)
- 500m
- 1000m
- Team Sprint
- Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, AB)
- 5000m
- 10,000m
- Vincent De Haître (Cumberland, ON)
- 1000m
- 1500m
- Yankun Zhao (Calgary, AB)
- 500m
With a vibrant international crowd and many exciting activations in the works, the 2024 ISU World Speed Skating Championships will be a perfect showcase for Canada’s most decorated winter Olympic sport.
- Over 600 students from schools around the Calgary area will be in attendance Thursday afternoon to cheer on the skaters.
- Fans will be treated to a free Calgary Stampeded pancake breakfast starting at 11:00am on Saturday
- Olympic champions Mathieu Giroux, Lucas Makowsky and Denny Morrison will be inducted into the Olympic Oval’s Hall of Champions on Saturday afternoon
- Fans are invited to visit Canada House presented by Intact Insurance, where they can learn about the Canadian skaters and participate in family-friendly activities
Cheer on Canada’s very best as they compete for World Championship titles and World Records on ‘The Fastest Ice in the World’ for the first time in 25 years! For as low as $10, fans can enjoy an up-close view of skaters racing head-to-head at speeds up to 60km/h in a race against the clock over distances ranging from 500m to 10,000m.
For those unable to attend in person, the races will be live streamed by CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sports digital platforms, with television broadcast coverage also available Saturday and Sunday on CBC and ICI Télé.
For more information on the ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Calgary, visit www.speedskating.ca/calgary2024.
Speed Skating Canada would like to acknowledge the support and financial contributions of partners such as the International Skating Union, Government of Canada, Government of Alberta, Tourism Calgary, Intact Insurance and the Calgary Olympic Oval.