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Newsletter by Keiran Gorsky, Martin Cleary & Dan Plouffe
Isabelle Weidemann had a loyal contingent cheering her on from Ottawa as she was thrust into a historically competitive women’s 3,000-metre speed skating event to open her Olympics in Milano.
Mike Rivet, her childhood coach, was joined by some 20 of her peers for a joint breakfast and watch-along on Saturday morning.
“We used to call [Weidemann] a mini-master because she was working with our older skaters,” Rivet recalled in conversation with the Ottawa Sports Pages’ Keiran Gorsky. “These are all people that know her and know her quite well.”
The party sipped their coffee and offered constructive criticism from behind two TV screens as Weidemann settled for a fifth-place finish with a time of 3:59.24. Her friend and national teammate, Valérie Maltais of La Baie, QC, took home a bronze medal – Canada’s first of the 2026 Olympics.
The watch party had to wait until the very end of the event, where Weidemann, the bronze medalist in the 3000 m at Beijing 2022, was paired with a gold medal favourite in Joy Beune of the Netherlands. In her characteristic locomotive-like buildup of speed, Weidemann started slow and deliberate before hitting her stride, finishing just over a second behind Beune in fourth.
“Isabelle doesn’t die off very much,” Rivet underlined. “Her ramping-up speed is not as great as some of the others, but once she starts to go, she maintains it and she’s strong all the way through.”
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The 30-year-old Gloucester Concordes product has seen a return to top form heading into the 2025-26 speed skating season. Weidemann finished second overall in long-distance events at the ISU World Cup, with a string of positive results in 3,000 and 5,000 m races.
In interviews leading up to the Olympics, Weidemann attributed her rejuvenation to a more delicate training regimen better tailored to this stage of her career. She has also enjoyed long bike rides with her brother and fellow national team speed skater Jake Weidemann.
“I felt strong for the first time in a really long time,” the Colonel By Secondary School grad told the CBC before competing in Calgary in November. “I’ve got some excitement back to race which I think I’ve struggled with the last few years… I feel happy racing again. Like it sucks to race and not feel like you’re able to put out your full potential.”
WATCH CBC SPORTS | RBC Spotlight Isabelle Weidemann: Mastering the art of the long game
It was the Italian Francesca Lollobrigida who stole the show on home ice, on her birthday no less. The 35-year-old fought with Maltais for the lead before pulling ahead in the home stretch. Her 3:54.28 time dashed the previous Olympic record by 2.65 seconds with her two-year-old son Tommaso watching excitedly from the stands.
The 35-year-old won silver in the event four years ago in Beijing, though she was not considered a strong medal contender this time around. Lollobrigida finished ninth in her most recent 3,000 m race at the final stage of the ISU World Cup in Inzell, Germany.
Though the door has now closed on what could have been an unprecedented second consecutive three-medal Olympics, Rivet has every confidence Weidemann isn’t finished. The 5,000 m on Thursday lends itself particularly well to her marathoner’s sensibility. She won silver in the event in 2022.
“If we look at the way she finished the race, it’s going to be a good feeling for what’s to come,” said Rivet, who also noted that only Weidemann and Lollobrigida recorded lap times below 31 seconds in the 3,000 m.
Rivet has plenty of experience watching his former students at the highest levels – Ivanie Blondin being another. But Olympic time brings with it a special sense of pride.
“She’s (Isabelle) such an inspiration for athletes and speed skaters… what you see is what you get from her,” he described. “She’s just a great role model, a great ambassador and a great Canadian.”
Katherine Stewart-Jones 45th in first cross-country race, Kayle Osborne moves up to backup role for opening hockey win
Katherine Stewart-Jones was the first athlete from the capital region to compete at the 2026 Olympics, racing in a snow-sprayed skiathlon this morning in Tesero. Stewart-Jones finished 45th out of 70 competitors with a time of 1:01:47.4.
Her Canadian teammates Alison Mackie, Jasmine Drolet and Amelia Wells finished in 22nd, 38th and 50th respectively as Scandinavian skiers owned the race through the Dolomites. Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson of Sweden claimed gold and silver while Norway’s Heidi Weng nabbed bronze.
The 10 km interval start is the next women’s event on the docket Thursday.
In women’s hockey, Munster goalie Kayle Osborne backed up Emerance Maschmeyer as Canada blanked Switzerland 4-0 in their opening contest of the tournament.
Canada couldn’t solve Swiss netminder Saskia Maurer until midway through the second period. Ottawa Charge captain Brianne Jenner drew a penalty and then Natalie Spooner cashed in on the powerplay for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Sarah Fillier, Julia Gosling and Daryl Watts all found the back of the net in the final frame for Canada. Maurer finished with 51 saves on 55 shots, while Maschmeyer faced only six on net all game long.
Originally slated for Canada’s #3 role, Osborne was on the bench to backup former Charge goaltender Maschmeyer (whose wife Geneviève Lacasse is from the Ottawa area and won Olympic gold in 2014 and silver in 2018.)
The Canadians had their opening game against Finland postponed after a norovirus outbreak decimated their opponents. Canada will square off against the Czech team coached by Carla MacLeod of the Ottawa Charge on Monday for their second preliminary round clash.
Ottawa Olympians in action on Feb. 8:
Day 2 Preview: Love of sport & competitive desire fuel Valérie Grenier through surgeries, recovery & rehabilitation
Valérie Grenier begins the third Olympic Games of her career Sunday morning with an event she abandoned for a time, the women’s downhill. But the break from the top speed discipline allowed her to develop into a podium threat in other races, and now she’s built back her confidence for the spotlight spectacle too.
Mention the storied Cortina d’Ampezzo alpine racing venue to the 29-year-old from St. Isidore, ON and the memories begin to flow as smoothly as her speed and technical skis glide over the pristine snow.
Located in the heart of the Dolomite Alps in northeastern Italy, the super-G and downhill Cortina d’Ampezzo race courses have brought the Mont-Tremblant Ski Club-raised racer moments of pure joy as well as horrifying pain.
But in advance of the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, Grenier was reflecting on all she has done in her 11-year career on the World Cup alpine ski circuit to help create positive energy on the Cortina d’Ampezzo courses.
Grenier’s first two Olympic Games were totally opposite to each other.
Rebounding from a tibia plateau injury as she approached the 2022 Beijing Olympics, she was restricted to only the women’s giant slalom, which she didn’t finish.
At the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, Grenier feasted on four races in her Winter Games debut and was an impressive sixth in the alpine combined.
“In Beijing, I only had the GS. But for 2026, I want everything – giant slalom, downhill, super-G, team combined. I don’t do slalom,” an excited Grenier told High Achievers columnist Martin Cleary while training and racing in Tarvisio, Italy before the Games.
Grenier’s World Cup results this season indicate that she could challenge for a women’s giant slalom medal, post a top-10 super-G result and aim for a solid downhill placement.
“I’m feeling really good body-wise. I haven’t felt this good in a long time,” she continued. “Last year was hard. My knee was sore last year. I’ve had no pain this season and I feel good.”
As Grenier gets set to embark on her Olympic races at Cortina d’Ampezzo, she can draw power, inspiration and motivation from the first and only World Cup downhill medal she won at that site on Jan. 26, 2024. She finished the one-run race only 0.71 seconds behind winner Stephanie Venier of Austria and in an historic three-way tie for third place.
But as memorable as that downhill day was, the World Cup super-G race two days later was gut wrenching. As Grenier was flying down the super-G course in full control, she suddenly flew off the course with the finish line in sight.
You can read this full feature from Cleary on OttawaSportsPages.ca to hear all about Grenier’s resilient road on her journey to Milano Cortina.
Also in action on Sunday is Antoine Cyr, who will follow Stewart-Jones’ tracks and enter the men’s skiathlon (10 km classic style & 10 km free technique).
You can read Cleary’s pre-Games feature on Cyr’s meandering road to a return Olympic appearance here.
