Speed skater Isabelle Weidemann 'honoured' to continue legacy of Canadian Olympic legends
Ottawa native excited to compete at 3rd Olympics, pass torch to new generation
Canadian speed skater Isabelle Weidemann has come full circle.
One of the world's top long trackers, Weidemann now finds herself in the same position as her heroes before her — passing the torch to the next generation.
The 29-year-old from Ottawa became a household name after winning three Olympic medals at the Beijing Games in 2022, including Canada's first-ever gold in the women's team pursuit alongside Ivanie Blondin and Valérie Maltais.
"There are young girls that come up to us all the time, young speed skaters or other athletes, and they're like, 'We watched your race at the Olympics!' And [we] just get to be those people a little bit now that get to pass the torch," Weidemann said in a Thursday interview with CBC Sports' Anastasia Bucsis.
"We've been doing this sport for a really long time. We are veterans of this national team now, and to think that one day we do get to pass on that legacy and to keep it going is so amazing and I feel so honoured to be able to do that."
WATCH l Weidemann looks forward to her 3rd Olympic Games:
Weidemann was Canada's flag-bearer for the Beijing closing ceremony, just like one of her idols, Cindy Klassen, at the 2006 Turin Olympics. Canadian women won seven medals at those Games, including five by Klassen, while a young Weidemann watched from home, mesmerized and inspired.
"I remember being 11 years old and watching the 2006 Olympics and being so in awe by watching Cindy Klassen or watching Clara [Hughes], watching that team of speed skaters," Weidemann said.
"I was just newly involved in speed skating; I didn't even really have an idea of what the sport actually entailed. But just watching the Olympics and knowing that I get to help continue that legacy is just really special."
Following in the footsteps of legends, Weidemann is part of a new golden age of Canadian speed skating.
Canada set a national record with 10 medals at last winter's world single distance championships in Calgary, which followed a World Cup season that saw the team win 23 medals — including five gold — across six stops.
Weidemann now has her sights set on her third Olympics at Milano-Cortina 2026, something she thinks about often. She says she has changed a lot since making her Olympic debut in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea — both on and off the ice.
"I feel like a different athlete, maybe a bit of a different version of myself that went into it eight years ago when I went to [PyeongChang] 2018 and then four years ago when I went to [Beijing] 2022," Weidemann said. "I feel like I've changed as an athlete and changed as a person."
Weidemann plans on enjoying it more this time around, recapturing that same sense of wonder she had as an 11-year-old watching Klassen and Hughes.
"I'm kind of clinging to that childhood specialness of it to not feel so nervous and not feel so pressured, just to bask in it a little bit more and to enjoy it and share that with everybody around me."
Weidemann will compete on Canadian ice later this month at a World Cup stop on Calgary's Olympic Oval (Jan. 24-26). She will look to claim her second medal of the season after earning 3,000-metre bronze in November at the same Beijing venue as her Olympic triumph.
"I'm getting really excited for the World Cup here in Calgary. We've got a few weeks left of hard training before we get to taper for the event but I'm stoked," Weidemann said.
There are three more World Cup stops after Calgary before this year's world single distance championships, which are being held in Hamar, Norway from March 13-16.
The Canadian team will compete in Milwaukee, Wisc., (Jan. 31-Feb. 2), Zakopane, Poland, (Feb. 21-23) and Heerenveen, Netherlands (Feb. 28-March 2).
Watch live coverage of all the World Cup action on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. A live streaming schedule is available here.
