18 skaters kick off international season with stops in Obihiro and Beijing this November

CALGARY, ALBERTA – Speed Skating Canada announces today the composition of its long track teams for the first four ISU World Cup Speed Skating events of the 2023-24 season, which includes stops in Japan, China, Norway and Poland.

Canada’s team for the fall World Cups will be comprised of 18 skaters, all of whom competed on the circuit at some point last season. They’ll look to build upon a successful 2022-23 campaign, one that saw them win an impressive 30 medals, including 8 gold, 14 silver and 8 bronze across six events.

Laurent Dubreuil and Ivanie Blondin were crowned World Cup champions last season in the 500m and Mass Start, respectively. The women’s Team Pursuit squad of Blondin, Isabelle Weidemann and Valérie Maltais also finished first overall, while including Dubreuil (1000m), Weidemann (3000m/5000m), Connor Howe (1500m) and both the men’s and women’s Team Sprint were ranked second.

These first four competitions of the season will help set the stage for a pair of international events on Canadian soil this coming winter. The Centre de glaces Intact Assurance in Quebec City is slated to host its first ever World Cup from February 2-4, 2024, while the Olympic Oval in Calgary will welcome the ISU World Speed Skating Championships back to Calgary for the first time since 1998 between February 15-18, 2024.

ISU World Cup Speed Skating 1-4

Eighteen skaters have been selected to represent Canada at the first four ISU World Cup Speed Skating events of the season in Obihiro, Japan (November 10-12), Beijing, China (November 17-19), Stavanger, Norway (December 1-3) and Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland (December 8-10).

Béatrice Lamarche (Quebec City, Que.)
Brooklyn McDougall (Calgary, Alta.)
Carolina Hiller (Prince George, B.C.)
Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.)
Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.)
Laura Hall (Salmon Arm, B.C.)
Maddison Pearman (Ponoka, Alta.)
Valérie Maltais (La Baie, Que.)

Anders Johnson (Burnaby, B.C.)
Antoine Gélinas-Beulieu (Sherbrooke, Que.)
Connor Howe (Canmore, Alta.)
David La Rue (Montreal, Que.)
Graeme Fish (Moose Jaw, Sask.)
Jordan Belchos (Toronto, Ont)*
Joshua Telizyn (Fort St. John, B.C.)
Laurent Dubreuil (Lévis, Que.)
Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, Alta.)
Vincent De Haître (Cumberland, Ont.)

* Jordan Belchos will only compete at World Cup 3 in Stavanger, Norway.

The team nominations were made in accordance with relevant High Performance Bulletins following the 2023 Canadian Long Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance, which were hosted from October 5-8 at the Olympic Oval in Calgary.