Valérie Maltais still hungry, wants more medals at the world championships

Speedskater Valérie Maltais has her most successful Olympic Games of her career and already has eyes on more medals with the Speedskating World Championships.

You might think that after winning three medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, serving as one of Canada’s flag-bearers at the closing ceremony in Italy and getting a hero’s welcome at Montréal–Trudeau International Airport on Monday, Canadian speed skater Valérie Maltais would take a moment to breathe.

But that would be underestimating the athlete from La Baie.

Maltais said Wednesday she’s aiming for a top-three finish in the all-around program at the World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships, to be held in the Netherlands from March 5 to 8.

If she succeeds, she’ll be the first Quebec athlete to do it, and the first Canadian since Ivanie Blondin at the World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships.

“Every time I show up to a competition, it’s to perform. Otherwise, I wouldn’t go. My best allround result is eighth, and I think I’m in a different place now; I’m fitter, I’m skating better. A top-three for me would be amazing. I think I’m capable of doing it,” the 35-year-old said in a phone interview Wednesday morning.

Her long-track teammate Laurent Dubreuil, a bronze medallist in the 500 metres at the 2026 Winter Olympics, agrees.

“Valérie definitely has a shot. If she skates the way she did at the Olympics, she could be in medal position before the 5000 metres. In the 1500 and 3000, (Norway’s Ragne) Wiklund beat her by very little in both races at the Games, and if they have a similar opening 500, Wiklund will probably be the favourite,” Dubreuil said Tuesday during a videoconference from Heerenveen.

“There’s also the Italian skater (Francesca) Lollobrigida in the 1500, although Valérie beat her fairly comfortably. After that, will she be able to stay on the podium with the 5000? That’s a big ask. She’ll need one of the best 5000s of her career, but it’s not impossible,” he added.

Maltais won three medals during the Milano Games. She defended her Olympic team pursuit title with Isabelle Weidemann and Blondin, earned four years earlier in Beijing. She also claimed the first individual medals of her career, bronzes in the 1500 and 3000 metres.

Though she admits she’s still floating, Maltais insists she’s not feeling any fatigue.

“I’m still a bit in the clouds; I haven’t fully grasped everything that happened. I’m back home for a week before returning to Europe for the world championships, so I’m training through all of this. A part of me hasn’t stopped yet, hasn’t settled, and I think it’ll hit me at the end of the season,” she said.

“I wanted to peak at the Olympics, and I did. Will I be fit enough for the worlds? I know training doesn’t disappear overnight. Getting back on the ice tomorrow, and the fact that I started biking again yesterday, means I’m maintaining a certain level of fitness,” she said.

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‘It’s ridiculous,’ Maltais says of funding

Maltais was also asked about Dubreuil’s comments on Tuesday, when he raised the alarm about the chronic underfunding of Canadian amateur sport and the consequences it could have on future Winter Olympic success.

“It’s not normal that we’ve reached this point. We’ve been talking for years about how ridiculous it is that we get no funding for world championships. It’s important to talk about it to show how much it makes no sense,” she said.

“Because of the lack of funding, athletes like Laurent and me sometimes have to choose to skip worlds. As a result, we sometimes end up with athletes with no experience, athletes we barely see, who’ll finish far down the standings. That’s not what we want; we want to be on the international stage and we want to perform,” she said.

Dubreuil noted the day before that the long-track team could thank Maltais for choosing to switch to long track instead of retiring after her short-track career in 2018, since she contributed to three of Canada’s five long-track medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Those performances may help Canada maintain long-track funding heading into the next Olympic cycle, though Maltais says she’s worried about the next generation, as is Dubreuil.

“The worlds are one of the most recognized competitions in our sport worldwide. So when we end up on the podium, I think we might open a few eyes to these issues,” said Maltais, who also confirmed she’ll personally cover all costs associated with attending worlds — including flights, accommodation and food.

Maltais, who does not plan to continue her career through the 2030 Winter Olympics, hopes to add a few more achievements to her impressive résumé in the Netherlands, for herself, and for the next generation of Canadian long-track athletes.

By Alexandre Geoffrion-McInnis

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 25, 2026.