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Ivanie Blondin of Ottawa secured a silver medal in the women’s speed skating mass start event on Saturday in Milan, matching her result from the 2022 Olympics.
The two-time world champion battled to the finish in eight minutes 35.09 seconds, just 39-100ths of a second behind gold medalist Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands (8:35.09) and 3-10ths ahead of American Mia Manganello (8:35.39).
Blondin, 35, is the first Canadian woman to win multiple mass start medals at the Olympic Games.
She accumulated 40 points, finishing 20 behind Groenewoud, a three-time world champion in the mass start who reached the podium in four of five World Cup races this season, earning two gold and two silver medals.
“Feistiness has always been within me, but what drove my career and why I’m still here fighting for medals. I’m proud of that legacy,” Blondin told CBC Sports after completing her final Olympic race.
This silver medal brings Canada’s total to nine bronze and 19 medals overall at these Games. Blondin also claimed gold in women’s team pursuit on Tuesday, alongside Isabelle Weidemann and Valérie Maltais.
After claiming a silver medal four years ago in Beijing, Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin captured another mass start speed skating Olympic silver medal, this time at Milano Cortina 2026.
Blondin emphasized the importance of inspiring the next generation of athletes.
“It means the world. I had an older generation that inspired my career and made me fight tooth and nail to [be successful],” she said. “If my [Olympic performance] inspires [others] to make it to the top, then let’s travel.”
The mass start race features 16 laps with athletes skating simultaneously, often resulting in physical jostling and unpredictable outcomes. Skaters earn points at intermediate sprints every four laps – three for first, two for second and one for third – which can impact their position within the top eight.
Valérie Maltais, from La Baie, Que., finished fifth (six points, 8:36.10) despite a fall early in the 16-lap race at Milano Speed Skating Stadium after clipping skates with another competitor.
After a gold in the team pursuit, Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin captured the silver medal in the speed skating mass start race Saturday at Milano Cortina 2026.
Silver medallist at her last 3 worlds
Blondin added to her medal haul with a surprising bronze in the women’s 1,500 metres on Friday, alongside her bronze in the 3,000 metres.
Ranked third in the world in mass start, Blondin has now secured silver at each of her last three world championships and won a World Cup gold in Calgary this season, adding silver and bronze medals on the circuit during the 2025-26 campaign.
For 36-year-old Mia Manganello, these were her third and final Winter Games. She earned her first individual World Cup gold in a mass start victory in November, defeating Groenewoud by one point.
In the men’s event, world No. 1 Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands proved his dominance in the men’s mass start, winning Olympic gold at age 40.
Bergsma, who also earned bronze on Feb. 13 in the men’s 1,000 metres, is the oldest speed skating gold medallist in long track history at the Winter Games.
Bergsma took control midway through the race, separating himself and Viktor Hald Thorup of Denmark from the rest of the field.
He finished in seven minutes 55.50 seconds, earning 68 points, while Thorup (8:00.52) amassed 47 points. Andrea Giovannini of Italy took bronze (8:04.42, 21 points).
Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu of Sherbrooke, Que., placed sixth in the 16-man field, clocking 8:04.76 and earning three points.
Jordan Stolz of the United States narrowly missed a historic achievement, finishing fourth and falling short of becoming the first man since 1994 to win three gold medals in long track speed skating at a single Olympics.
Stolz previously won gold in the 500 and 1,000 metres in Milan. The 21-year-old from Wisconsin also secured silver in the 1,500 metres.
There was considerable anticipation surrounding Stolz’s potential for a fourth gold medal, a topic frequently addressed in post-race press conferences following his earlier victories. The last male speed skater to achieve three gold medals in long track at a single Winter Games was Johann Olav Koss at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.
Only two long track athletes have surpassed that feat: Eric Heiden of the United States, who won all five events at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, and Lidiya Skoblikova, who claimed four titles in women’s speed skating representing the Soviet Union in 1964.
