ºÃÉ«tv speedskater Valerie Maltais races in the women’s 1500-metre event at the ISU World Cup speedskating in Calgary, Alta., Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol
TAKSALT LAKE CITY - Canada's Valérie Maltais claimed silver in the women’s 3,000 metres, while Béatrice Lamarche won bronze in the women's 1,000 at the season-opening speedskating World Cup event Friday.
Maltais crossed the finish line in three minutes 56.53 seconds, setting a personal best. Joy Beune of the Netherlands captured gold in 3:53.698, and Ragne Wiklund took bronze in 3:57.19.
“I’m very happy with my race and with the way that I prepared today," Maltais said. "I had a really good summer of training, and I knew I was capable of good performances. The objective was to start the season off strong, but you never know where you stand.
"The girls on the international stage are really strong in the 3,000, so I just wanted to show up ready and have the best race possible today."
The 35-year-old from La Baie, Que., won a team pursuit gold in Olympic-record time alongside Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann at the 2022 Winter Games.
She also competed for Canada as a short-track speedskater in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Olympics, winning silver at the Sochi 2014 Games in the 3,000 team relay.
Weidemann, who hails from Ottawa, finished fifth, while Blondin, also of Ottawa, placed eighth in the 3,000 Friday. Calgary’s Laura Hall was 13th.
Lamarche, meanwhile, won her first individual-distance World Cup medal and became the first ºÃÉ«tv woman to reach the 1,000 podium on the circuit since Christine Nesbitt in 2012-13.
The 27-year-old from Quebec City finished in a personal-best of 1:12.77, just short of the ºÃÉ«tv record of 1:12.68. Jutta Leerdam (1:12.35) and Femke Kok (1:12.43), both from the Netherlands, won gold and silver.Â
"After my race, I was really happy just looking at the time, and then seeing that I got third, I just couldn’t believe it," Lamarche said.
"It’s amazing and I was not expecting this. I’m glad my best races are happening this season. It’s a really good start for me and I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend."
The next speedskating World Cup event takes place in Calgary next week.
This report by ºÃÉ«tvwas first published Nov. 14, 2025.
The ºÃÉ«tv Press. All rights reserved.
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