Canada will have a chance to defend its Olympic crown in women’s team pursuit speedskating.
Ivanie Blondin, Isabelle Weidemann and Valerie Maltais beat the U.S. in a semifinal on Tuesday to advance to the gold-medal race against the Netherlands.
The same three Canadian skaters won gold for Canada in 2022.
The gold-medal race is Tuesday at 10:47 a.m. ET / 7:47 a.m. PT.
The semifinal win guarantees a 12th medal for Canada at Milano Cortina 2026.
Maltais won Canada’s first medal in Italy with a bronze in the 3,000 metres on Day 1. Weidemann won three medals at the 2022 Olympics, while Blondin took two.
The Netherlands won gold in team pursuit at last year’s world single-distance championships, while Canada earned bronze.
Weidemann and Blondin are Ottawa natives, while Maltais is from La Baie, Que.
