After a spectacular start to the season which saw no fewer than three World Records set, the Speed Skating season continues with the second leg of the ISU World Cup in Calgary (CAN) from 21-24 November. 

The program at the 1988 Olympic Oval in Canada is a carbon copy of last week’s schedule in Salt Lake City (USA), and while some skaters will hope to maintain their winning ways, others will want to bounce back after a disappointing first outing.

Will Timothy Loubineaud (FRA) maintain his form after his surprising 5000m World Record in Utah? What’s the women’s 500m going to look like now that Femke Kok (NED) has taken the distance into unknown territory? Can the Dutch women bounce back after their Team Pursuit effort went awry last week? Olympic qualification is in the balance…

Can Ghiotto and Eitrem strike back?

In shattering the World Record, Loubineaud was just 0.23s short of breaking the six-minute barrier in the 5000m at the Utah Olympic Oval last weekend. The 29-year-old Frenchman had never won a 5000m before and couldn’t really believe what he’d done.

Timothy Loubineaud (FRA) celebrates his stunning 5000m World Record skate at the season's first ISU World Cup event in Salt Lake City (USA). © ISU

“I used to see Sven Kramer (NED), Patrick Roest (NED), Davide Ghiotto (ITA)… those guys are way better than I am, and today I'm part of that group”, Loubineaud said.

Kramer retired after the 2022 Olympic Games and Roest is still struggling to come back after a lost season due to injuries and didn’t manage to qualify for the autumn World Cups, but Ghiotto may be looking for revenge this weekend.

Last season the Italian endurance specialist broke the 10,000m World Record in Calgary, but he could only come seventh in last week’s 5000m in Salt Lake City. 

Sander Eitrem (NOR) will also hope to make amends, although the World Champion did manage third place last week. Metoděj Jílek (CZE) will also be in the mix again. The 19-year-old Czech was 0.60s faster than Eitrem in Utah.

Beune too strong in Salt Lake

Joy Beune (NED) dominated both the women’s 3000m and 1500m in Salt Lake City, but Ragne Wiklund (NOR) was also strong, taking bronze medals in both distances.

Joy Beune (NED) won gold in both the 3000m and 1500m in Salt Lake City and will hope to help the Dutch Pursuit team fire again in Calgary after a rare slip-up. © ISU

In the Team Pursuit, Beune skated as fast and solid as she had done in the individual distances, but that proved to be a little too much for team-mate Elisa Dul, who lost touch with Beune and Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong (NED). The orange train had been on course for gold, but fell apart with a lap-and-a-half to go and ended up in fifth place. 

With Olympic qualification in jeopardy, Dutch national coach Rintje Ritsma has decided to go back to the golden line-up from last season’s World Cup and World Championships, with Marijke Groenewoud recalled as third wagon behind Beune and Ripma-De Jong.

Slow start for Takagi

For Miho Takagi (JPN) the season start was the opposite of Beune’s. The Japanese star skipped the 1000m in Salt Lake City to build stamina in the 3000m B Division race. Inn Saturday’s 1500m, the 2024 World Champion finished disappointingly fifth, but on Sunday she anchored Japan to victory in the Team Pursuit.

Miho Takagi (front) anchored her Japanese team-mates Momoka Horikawa and Ayano Sato to Pursuit gold but will also seek individual glory in the 1000m. © ISU

Despite their gold, Takagi knew that she herself and the team would have to raise their game to stay on top.

“Of course we are happy with this result, but the Netherlands didn’t skate in their strongest line-up,” she said.

“We are also still two seconds off the World Record [set by Japan in 2020] so I think we can be better. We want to and we have to, but this win gives us a lot of confidence and motivation.”

In Calgary, Takagi will return to skate the 1000m. The Japanese World and Olympic champion will challenge Jutta Leerdam (NED), who beat Femke Kok (NED) in a tight head-to-head battle in the long sprint last week. 

Kok-Jackson resume battle

The shortest distance in speed skating provided the most spectacular competition in Salt Lake City, with Kok winning both runs and shattering the 12-year-old World Record of 36.36s by a 0.27s margin in her second race. 

Kok beat Erin Jackson (USA) in a head-to-head-battle. The Olympic champion took silver twice but also skated a big personal best of 36.57s.

Erin Jackson (USA) took silver behind Femke Kok (NED) in both 500m races in Salt Lake City, but will be encouraged by having set her own personal best. © ISU

Jackson will be keeping an eye on Kok in Calgary.

“It's really cool that the records are falling, because I think it just shows the advancement in the sport, and I feel like we've been kind of stagnant for a long time.

“I'm chasing Femke now, so it's nice to see what she's doing, and then hopefully I'll not be too far.”

Strong Stolz not invincible

In the men’s competition, Jordan Stolz (USA) started the season with gold in the 1000m, the 1500m and the first 500m, but he was stranded in fourth place in the second 500m.

“I just didn't have the power in the legs after the other races, but everybody else did really well," the American said on Sunday in Salt Lake City.

Jordan Stolz (USA) won three events in Utah but missed out on the podium altogether in the second 500m. Can anyone deny him more gold in Calgary? © ISU

Jenning de Boo (NED) won the second 500m in 33.63s, which was only 0.02s short of the World Record. Seven men managed to skate under 34 seconds in the second 500m, showing the depth of the field in the men’s shortest distance. The battle is to be continued in Calgary.

Mass Start makes for exciting finale

On Sunday, the second ISU World Cup of the 2025-26 season will conclude with the Mass Start for both genders. In Salt Lake City, Jorrit Bergsma (NED) was the strongest of a six-man breakaway which escaped without Stolz, who had decided to try his luck in the event but missed out on the lead group. Stolz hopes he can join the fight for Mass Start gold at the Olympic Games, when the event is scheduled on the final day of competition.

Jorrit Bergsma (NED) took Mass Start gold in Salt Lake City. Expect more thrills in the often chaotic final event in round 2 of the ISU World Cup. © ISU

For Mia Manganello Kilburg (USA), that day may conclude a long career on the ice. The 36-year-old skater, who has already decided to quit after the Olympic Games in Milano Cortina, started the season on a high note by taking her career first World Cup gold in the Mass Start.

Olympic qualification

The first four World Cups serve as Olympic qualification events. Speed skaters will earn quotas for their National Olympic Committees through the Special Olympic Qualification Classifications (SOQCS). Quotas will be allocated based on the SOQC Points ranking (based on points achieved at specific World Cup events) and the SOQC Times ranking (based on the best times per athlete achieved at specific World Cup events).

The maximum amount of quota places per NOC is nine skaters per gender. The quota places are determined by the SOQCS, and allocated to NOCs, not to individual skaters. There’s also a maximum amount of quota places per NOC in each distance at the Olympic Games.

For details of Olympic Qualification, click here