Brooklyn McDougall, Béatrice Lamarche and Ivanie Blondin lead Canada to third consecutive World Championship podium in the distance

HAMAR, NORWAY – Canada kicked off the ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Hamar by winning silver in the women’s Team Sprint on Thursday afternoon.

Brooklyn McDougall (Calgary, Alta.), Béatrice Lamarche (Quebec City, Que.) and Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.) – who were racing together for the very first time as a trio – stopped the clock in 1:27.23 to secure a second-place finish, only +1.66 seconds behind the gold medal winning Dutch (1:25.57). Poland rounded out the podium in bronze medal position with a time of 1:27.80.

The Canadian women, who entered the competition as two-time defending World Champions in the discipline, faced some adversity just a few days before they were slatted to defend their title. Carolina Hiller (Prince George, B.C.), who helped the team capture gold and silver on the World Cup circuit earlier this season, was unavailable to compete and had to be replaced by McDougall, who confidently stepped into the lead position.

Despite this last-minute roster change, the Canadians delivered when it mattered most, which landed Lamarche the first World Championship medal of her career.

“We had to change our plans [due to Carolina’s absence] but things worked out well. We have a lot of trust in Brooklyn, and we skate well together. We’re all experienced skaters in this discipline and did good today even with the difficult circumstances.”

Béatrice Lamarche

The performance was equally as satisfying for McDougall, who battled back following a disappointing 2023-24 season of injuries and setbacks just to qualify for the competition. The 26-year-old Olympian captured a world title in the distance back in 2023 alongside Blondin and Hiller.

“It was a lot of fun to get back into the Team Sprint. It’s been a little while for me, but it felt really great.”

Brooklyn McDougall

The Team Sprint has now appeared at five World Single Distance Championships since being introduced in 2019 and Canadian women have reached the podium four times, including gold in 2023 and 2024, as well as silver in 2019 and 2025.

The Canadian men’s squad of Laurent Dubreuil (Lévis, Que.), Anders Johnson (Burnaby, B.C.) and Connor Howe (Canmore, Alta.) were unable to defend their World Championship title on Thursday, settling for a sixth-place result in only their third race together as a trio. China (1:18.13) bested the Netherlands (+0.29) and United States (+1.10) to earn their first-ever world title in the discipline.

Canada’s long track skaters also had a strong showing individual distances during the first day of racing in Hamar.

The trio of Valérie Maltais (La Baie, Que.), Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.) and Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.) finished the women’s 3000m ranked sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively. On the men’s side, Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, Alta.) finished seventh in the 5000m, while teammate Graeme Fish (Moose Jaw, Sask.) was thirteenth.

The ISU World Speed Skating Championships continues Friday with the men’s and women’s 500m and Team Pursuit events. Fans can watch races live on CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sport digital platforms beginning at 2:00pm ET.

Results

Women’s 3000m

Valerie Maltais: 6th
Isabelle Weidemann: 7th
Ivanie Blondin: 8th

Men’s 5000m

Ted-Jan Bloemen: 7th
Graeme Fish: 13th

Team Sprint

Women’s: 2nd
Men’s: 6th