MILAN – Isabelle Weidemann stepped onto the Olympic oval with medal hopes on her shoulders.
A few strides in, the Canadian speedskater knew she wouldn’t meet those expectations.
Weidemann finished fifth in the gruelling women’s 5,000 metres Thursday at the Milan Cortina Games, clocking six minutes 50.08 seconds, almost four seconds shy of the podium.
“I just didn’t have it,” she said, smiling despite the letdown. “First lap in, I was like, ‘Whoa, this is really fast … Oh no, I can’t get this back, this is a bit gone.’ But I fought the whole time. Had nothing left.
“I’m a little bit disappointed, to be honest. I wanted to be on the podium today really badly.”
Weidemann was Canada’s closing ceremony flag-bearer at the Beijing Games in 2022 after winning three medals — silver in the 5,000, bronze in the 3,000 and gold in team pursuit with Valérie Maltais and Ivanie Blondin.
“I feel like a very different athlete than four years ago, I feel a lot older, a lot more experience, for sure, a lot more nervous too,” she said. “There’s some expectation that I want to perform. I know how much results like that mean to Canada, and so I wanted to bring that home.”
The 30-year-old from Ottawa is known for her patient approach, measured, efficient strides to maintain a consistent speed and conserve energy. Eventually, she reels in fading competitors who’ve lost their breath with a late surge.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
But that push never came on Thursday. She sat ninth after 1,000 metres and steadily climbed to fifth at the 2,200-metre mark. That was as high as she would get.
“I was kind of waiting for it,” said Weidemann, who also came fifth in the women’s 3,000 in Milan. “Throughout the season, I’ve had these moments where it clicks and all of a sudden, ‘Oh, there’s the pressure, there’s the speed,’ and I feel like I can start to catch people when they die, but I just didn’t have it … there was no extra gear today.
“It was just a fight. Eight laps to go, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, eight laps (laughs). But I had fun.”
Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida recorded the win in 6:46.17, capturing gold in a tight, dramatic finish with a section of fans from the host country cheering her on.
Merel Conijn of the Netherlands claimed silver in 6:46.27 and Ragne Wiklund of Norway, who raced alongside Weidemann in the second-last pairing, was third in 6:46.34.
Laura Hall, a 22-year-old from Salmon Arm, B.C., finished ninth out of 12 skaters at Milano Speed Skating Stadium.
Weidemann, a third-time Olympian, said she’s had roughly 40 family and friends come watch and support her. One fan lifted up a Canadian flag with the words “Go Izzy Go!” through the sea of orange.
Her medal hopes are not over in Milan. Canada begins defence of its title in the women’s team pursuit quarterfinals Friday, with the final taking place Tuesday.
“We’re excited to empty the tank, see what’s in there, fight to be on top of the podium,” she said. “There’s definitely some fire. I feel the 3k was a bit disappointing, the 5k was a bit disappointing. So I’m like, ‘Ah, let’s rip it out.’”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
