Ottawa’s Isabelle Weidemann earns speedskating World Cup silver in 3000m

By Canadian Press on December 13, 2025.

HAMAR — Canadian speedskater Isabelle Weidemann raced to World Cup silver on Saturday in the women’s 3,000 metres to capture her second individual distance medal of the season.

Weidemann, from Ottawa, worked through a slow start before overtaking pair mate Ragne Wiklund of Norway (4:01.41) to cross the finish line with a time of four minutes 1.30 seconds.

Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands (4:00.95) joined them on the podium with gold.

“I’ve skated against Ragne quite a bit this season and we’ve gone back and forth,” Weidemann said. “… It takes me a while sometimes to find the right gear, but once I find the pace it seems to click, and that’s the point when others start to struggle.

“I think there’s a trust in my strategy. I’m watching people skate away from me because I don’t have the sprint in the beginning, but I know that when the pace starts to slow down, especially on slow ice like this, I can work a little bit.”

Valérie Maltais of La Baie, Que., and Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin finished the event in fourth (4:03.62) and tenth (4:07.08), respectively.

Weidemann earned her first medal of the season last Friday, a silver in the 5,000.

The 30-year-old finishes the four Olympic qualifying World Cups ranked second overall (191 points) in the women’s long distances, one spot ahead of teammate Maltais (174 points). Although official team nominations will not be made until mid-January, those results prequalify the pair for the Milan Cortina Olympics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2025.

The Canadian Press