Monday’s results confirm Brooklyn McDougall and Cédrick Brunet’s place on the Olympic squad; men’s Mass Start spot still up for grabs on Tuesday
QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC – David La Rue and Daniel Hall can breathe a sigh of relief after securing Canada’s two men’s 1500m spots with their performances on Monday at the at the 2026 Long Track Canada Cup and Olympic Skate-Off in Quebec City.
La Rue (Saint-Lambert, Que.) and Hall (Calgary, Alta.) earned the top two spots after posting times of 1:46.399 and 1:46.813, respectively. Winnipeg’s Tyson Langelaar, who competed in the distance at Beijing 2022, was just off the pace, rounding out the podium after crossing the line in 1:46.883.
It was an emotional moment for 27-year-old La Rue, who missed out on his Olympic dream four years ago when the Olympic Skate-Off was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
David La Rue“It was really an incredible moment! I saw my time and my ranking after crossing the finish line, then I heard the crowd and looked up to see my parents, my sister and some of my good friends in the stands – definitely lots of emotions. The level of competition today was really high with Jake, Tyson, Antoine and even Connor, who showed up at the line and gave it his all despite his back injury. They are all incredible skaters, so I knew there was no room for error. I had to be confident in my training and let my body do what it is capable of doing. I knew I was in good physical shape, just had to push aside the negative thoughts and doubts.”
The significance of the accomplishment had not yet sunk for Hall, who will join his sister Laura – qualified in both the women’s 3000m and 5000m – at the long track oval in Milan.
Daniel Hall“I haven’t had any time to wrap my head around how I feel yet. It’s kind of hard to process it all right now. I need some time to think about it before I can really have some proper emotions towards it. But I’m excited to go home and celebrate it with my friends, my family and my roommates – it’ll be a lot of fun!”
A pair of familiar faces punched their tickets in the women’s 1500m, with Béatrice Lamarche (Quebec City, Que.) and Valérie Maltais (La Baie, Que.) earning the two remaining spots alongside Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin, who was prequalified based on World Cup results.
Lamarche, who had already qualified in both the 500m and 1000m, posted the fastest time of the day (1:57.489) to add the 1500m to her Olympic schedule. Second place finisher Maltais (1:57.500), who will also be skating the 3000m and Mass Start next month in Italy, also adds a third distance to her plate at what will be here fifth career Games.
Sprinters Brooklyn McDougall and Cédrick Brunet also got some positive news following Monday’s 1500m races, as their place on the Olympic squad was confirmed after two days of stressfully waiting. The pair occupied the third 500m spot in their respective Olympic Matrix but had to wait for some of the remaining spaces to be filled out before learning their fate.
Canada can only bring a maximum of eight women and seven men to Milano-Cortina 2026, and places on the respective Olympic Matrix (see below) are filled in a specific order, which was determined based on international results and rankings from the World Cup season. The Canadian long track speed skating team for Milano-Cortina 2026 will not be made official until later this month, with all nominations made by Speed Skating Canada’s high performance program, in accordance with relevant policies and bulletins, subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee.
Racing at the 2026 Long Track Canada Cup and Olympic Skate-Off concludes tomorrow, where the final spot in the men’s Mass Start will be determined. Watch the active live on CBC Sports digital platforms and on Speed Skating Canada’s YouTube channel.
Women’s Olympic Matrix
| Rank | Distance | Athlete |
| 1 | 3000-W (1) | Isabelle Weidemann |
| 1 | 5000-W (1) | Isabelle Weidemann |
| 3 | 3000-W (2) | Valerie Maltais |
| 3 | 5000-W (2) | Laura Hall |
| 3 | MS-W (1) | Ivanie Blondin |
| 6 | MS-W (2) | Valerie Maltais |
| 7 | 1000-W (1) | Béatrice Lamarche |
| 8 | 1500-W (1) | Ivanie Blondin |
| 9 | 3000-W (3) | Laura Hall |
| 10 | 500-W (1) | Béatrice Lamarche |
| 10 | 1000-W (2) | Rose Laliberté-Roy |
| 12 | 1500-W (2) | Béatrice Lamarche |
| 13 | 500-W (2) | Carolina Hiller-Donnelly |
| 14 | 500-W (3) | Brooklyn McDougall |
| 14 | 1500-W (3) | Valérie Maltais |
| 16 | 1000-W (3) | Carolina Hiller-Donnelly |
Men’s Olympic Matrix
| Rank | Distance | Athlete |
| 1 | 10000-M (1) | Ted-Jan Bloemen |
| 1 | 5000-M (1) | Ted-Jan Bloemen |
| 3 | MS-M (1) | Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu |
| 4 | MS-M (2) | |
| 5 | 500-M (1) | Laurent Dubreuil |
| 6 | 500-M (2) | Anders Johnson |
| 7 | 1500-M (1) | David La Rue |
| 8 | 500-M (3) | Cédrick Brunet |
| 8 | 1000-M (1) | Laurent Dubreuil |
| 8 | 1500-M (2) | Daniel Hall |
| 11 | 1000-M (2) | Anders Johnson |