Valerie Maltais of Canada competes during the women's 3000 meters at the World Cup speedskating event in Inzell Germany, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Valerie Maltais of Canada reacts during the women's 3000 meters at the World Cup speedskating event in Inzell Germany, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Valerie Maltais of Canada competes during the women's 3000 meters at the World Cup speedskating event in Inzell Germany, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
INZELL - Canada's Valerie Maltais earned bronze in the women's 3,000 metres at a speedskating World Cup on Saturday in her final race before the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Maltais, from La Baie, Que., finished in three minutes 59.92 seconds in the last long-distance race of the season.Â
Norway's Ragne Wiklund crossed the finish line in 3:54.74, setting a new personal best and new track record at the Max Aicher Arena to grab gold.
"I'm happy with my performance today. It was a really consistent race and I feel that I skated well," said Maltais. "I knew Ragne (Wiklund) was going to start very quickly, so we emphasized that in my race plan.Â
"I’m starting my recovery phase after a successful training camp in Spain, so this is a good sign considering I haven’t yet reached my peak. Definitely a positive result heading into the Olympics."
Joy Beune of the Netherlands earned silver (3:56.96).
Wiklund was in a class of her own atop the World Cup rankings with 270 points across five long distance races.Â
Ottawa's Isabelle Weidemann was second with 227 points, thanks to a pair of silver medals.
The third and final spot on the overall podium went to Beune, who was tied with Maltais with 222 points but got the upper hand thanks to two victories and four podium results.
The final speedskating World Cup event of the season concludes Sunday, where medals and World Cup titles will be awarded in the men’s and women’s 500 metres, Mass Start and Team Sprint.Â
This report by ºÃÉ«tvwas first published Jan. 24, 2026.
The ºÃÉ«tv Press. All rights reserved.
Canada is entering a new era of nation-building. From clean-energy corridors and c…
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
