‘I had trained so hard for this day’: Quebec speedskater Maltais captures bronze

MILAN — Well, that sure didn’t take long, eh?

Team Canada’s Winter Olympics got off to a shiny start Saturday, as Quebec speedskater Valérie Maltais captured bronze in the women’s 3,000 metres in Milano-Cortina.

“Yesterday I was really nervous. Then I slept like nine-and-a-half hours last night. Like, I slept so good. And as I woke up, I was just ready. I had trained so hard for this day,” said Maltais.

Twenty skaters qualified for the event, racing against the clock in pairs. Maltais skated in the third-last group alongside Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida, who electrified the jam-packed, partisan crowd with a gold medal–winning time of 3:54.28, which is an Olympic record.

Norway’s Ragne Wiklund claimed silver in 3:56.54, narrowly edging Maltais, who crossed the line in 3:56.93.

“I was really aware that race of what I was doing. When I was going to attack entering the corner,” said Maltais, noting she could hear her two coaches shouting encouraging words during her race.

“When I saw 3:56 I was just like ‘What?’ Having (Lollobrigida) like pulling out a really good race, it was challenging to still do my race and stay calm, seeing her skating away from me.”

Maltais then endured an anxious wait as the final four skaters took to the ice, any one of whom could have bumped her off the podium.

“I was like (expletive) I’m going to be fourth,” she said with a laugh. “I just didn’t know. I was just hoping. It was stressful.

This was Maltais’s fourth Olympics and her third career medal — but her first individual one. She previously won silver as part of Canada’s women’s 3,000-metre relay team in short-track speedskating at Sochi 2014, and gold in the women’s team pursuit at Beijing 2022.

She is the first Canadian skater to medal in both short-track and long-track speedskating.

“When I think about it, it was so much work, so much effort. But it’s a process where I’ve worked really hard with my team and being selfish at some moments, like this is what I need,” said Maltais.

“I’ve been intense this season and really focusing. It was worth it. I was like ‘I’m going to show up on the line on February 7 and be the most ready and the most in shape of my career.’ I’m 35 years old. I cannot go to bed late. I cannot eat what whatever I want. Having everyone around just helped me stay focused on my plan. I know I sacrificed a lot.”

Maltais credited her husband, retired long-track skater Jordan Belchos, for his support. The couple had discussed starting a family after the 2022 Olympics, but those plans were put on hold for one more shot at a lifelong dream.

They agreed to reassess in 2024.

“I didn’t want to just participate at the Games. I don’t need another top 10. I want to be on the podium individually,” said Maltais.

Sticking with it proved to be the right decision. Unfortunately, Belchos wasn’t in Italy to witness his wife’s crowning achievement, remaining back home while completing his master’s degree.

“She started the year telling us she wanted to leave the sport without any regrets about this pursuit of that medal,” said her coach, Muncef Ouardi.

“There was no looking back. She did it, and she was 100 per cent in it. Today was not a given. She could have done a great race and finished sixth. But she really showed up.”

Maltais is the latest Canadian skater to win bronze in this event. Winnipegger Cindy Klassen did so twice — at Salt Lake City 2002 and Turin 2006 — while Kristina Groves (Vancouver 2010) and Isabelle Weidemann (Beijing 2022) have done so as well.

Weidemann, who is from Ottawa, overcame a bumpy start on Saturday to finish fifth in the race. She might just have made the podium had the race been slightly longer considering how she was gaining ground in the final stretches. Calgary’s Laura Hall finished 13th.

“I’m so stoked. I cried on the infield,” Weidemann said of seeing Maltais win the bronze. “We’ve been training together for so, so long and been part of the team for over eight years. She’s gotten so, so good over the last few years, so to watch her kind of put that all in on the right day is really amazing”

Swiss skater Kaitlyn McGregor, whose entire family is from Manitoba, made her Olympic debut and finished 11th. This was considered the weakest of her four events she will compete in.

Maltais will be back in the oval for the women’s 1,500 metres and the mass start race.

“I saw they were predicting these could be a good Olympics for Canada. I think we’re starting strong,” she said.

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