Ottawa native matches Beijing 2022 result that helped her earn first-career Olympic medal

BEIJING, CHINA – Isabelle Weidemann returned to a familiar spot on the podium at the Ice Ribbon in Beijing, mirroring the bronze medal performance she achieved during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games during Saturday’s World Cup Speed Skating in the Chinese capital.

Skating in the fourth of eight pairs, the 29-year-old posted a time of 4:02.02, her fastest of the season to date. The Ottawa native sat atop the leaderboard for two pairs, before being bumped into second place by Joy Beune of the Netherlands, who stopped the clock in 4:01.90. The duo was unseeded by Norway’s Ragne Wiklund, who blew away the competition with a time of 4:00.10 in the final pair to secure the victory.

Weidemann’s bronze medal finish in Beijing show’s that she is trending in the right direction. After skipping out on the Canadian Long Track Championships this fall, the reigning World Championship silver medalist in the 3000m kicked-off her World Cup campaign with a ninth-place result at last weekend’s opener in Nagano, in only her second race of the season.

“I feel I’m starting to find my racing legs a little bit. I think tactically last weekend, I really messed up. I had a cross-over problem, and I was really upset afterwards, feeling that I let myself down. This weekend, I wanted to be aggressive and showcase everything that I’ve been working on over the summer, and not let those little tactical things get in the way of my performance.”

Isabelle Weidemann

The podium finish helped Weidemann move up to fourth place in the overall World Cup long distance rankings. She has earned 80 points across two events, placing her behind Wiklund (114), Beune (102) and teammate Ivanie Blondin (94).

Four Canadian skaters also broke into the top 10 of their respective long-distances on the second day of racing in Beijing.

Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.), who won gold in last weekend’s 3000m, finished eighth in the distance (+3.70), while teammate Valérie Maltais (La Baie, Que.) was tenth (+5.17). On the men’s side, Graeme Fish (Moose Jaw, Sask.) and Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, Alta.) were seventh (+8.14) and ninth (+8.60) in the men’s 5000m, respectively, behind gold medalist Sander Eitrem of Norway.

The ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Beijing concludes tomorrow with the men’s and women’s 500m, Mass Start and Team Sprint. Races will be live streamed on CBC Sports digital platforms beginning at 4:00am ET.

Results

Women’s 1000m

Béatrice Lamarche: 18th
Caroline Hiller: 8th (Division B)
Maddison Pearman: 16th (Division B)

Men’s 1000m

Laurent Dubreuil: 20th
Connor Howe: 7th (Division B)
Anders Johnson: 8th (Division B)
David La Rue: 16th (Division B)

Women’s 3000m

Isabelle Weidemann: 3rd
Ivanie Blondin: 8th
Valérie Maltais: 10th
Laura Hall: 16th

Men’s 5000m

Graeme Fish: 7th
Ted-Jan Bloemen: 9th