Carolina Hiller-Donnelly, Brooklyn McDougall and Cédrick Brunet next in line for selection but need to wait before spots on the team can be confirmed
QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC – Laura Hall and Anders Johnson got one step closer to realizing their respective Olympic dreams thanks to timely performances Saturday at the 2026 Long Track Canada Cup and Olympic Skate-Off in Quebec City.
Hall (Calgary, Alta.) surprised many by taking the top spot in the women’s 3000m and securing Canada’s third and final position in the distance for the Games, joining teammates Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.) and Valérie Maltais (La Baie, Que.), who were both prequalified based on World Cup results from earlier this season.
The 22-year-old Hall skated a time of 4:07.087 to finish the race ahead of pair mate Maltais (4:07.412), as well as Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin (4:07.514), who was her primary challenger for the final distance spot.
Laura Hall“I feel really good! I was not fully expecting this result today. I wanted to go out and skate a good race, whatever that would end up being, but I’m obviously super happy about the result. It’s still a bit surreal but I’m super excited!”
Laurent Dubreuil (Lévis, Que.) skated a time of 34.427 to win the men’s 500m on Saturday morning, but it was second-place finished Johnson (Burnaby, B.C.) who was arguably the happiest, as his time of 34.685 helped him earn silver and the second Olympic spot in the distance.
Anders Johnson“It’s surreal right now and I don’t think it has really sunk in. I’ve been skating well this week in practice, and just prayed before the race, and was happy that I was able to execute well and get out of my own way and just let the skating happen.”
The pair of Dubreuil and Johnson were joined on the podium by Cédrick Brunet (Gatineau, Que.), whose time of 34.969 have him in line to fill the third 500m spot, however the 25-year-old will need to wait for a few other distances to be decided before knowing his fate.
It was a similar story in the women’s 500m, where first and second place finishers Carolina Hiller-Donnelly (Prince George, B.C.) and Brooklyn McDougall (Calgary, Alta.), who posted times of 38.455 and 38.483, respectively, will need to wait and see how the remaining distances play out before knowing if they will join prequalified teammate Béatrice Lamarche (Quebec City, Que.) on the starting line in Italy.
Carolina Hiller-Donnelly“I don’t really have the words to express how I feel. The past four years I’ve been gearing towards this, and I’ve had the hardest year of my life in 2025, losing my mom at the end of March. One of the last things she told me was that I was going to go to the Olympics. I’ve just been holding onto that, and I felt her so much today in my preparation and on the ice. I can finally breath a sigh of relief and start preparing for Milan.”
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. While their performances put them in line for an Olympic berth, Hiller-Donnelly, McDougall and Brunet will need to wait to see how racing unfolds over the coming days to see if their spot on the team will hold up.
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.
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) | |
| 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) | |
| 12 | 1500-W (2) | |
| 13 | 500-W (2) | Carolina Hiller-Donnelly |
| 14 | 500-W (3) | Brooklyn McDougall |
| 14 | 1500-W (3) | |
| 16 | 1000-W (3) |
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) | |
| 8 | 500-M (3) | Cédrick Brunet |
| 8 | 1000-M (1) | |
| 8 | 1500-M (2) | |
| 11 | 1000-M (2) |
Racing at the 2026 Long Track Canada Cup and Olympic Skate-Off continues tomorrow, where spots in the women’s 1000m and 5000m, as well as the men’s 1000m will be up for grabs. Watch the active live on CBC Sports digital platforms and on Speed Skating Canada’s YouTube channel.