Olympic dreams on the line at “The Fastest Ice in the World™”. The world’s top long track speed skaters from more than 30 nations return to Calgary’s legendary Olympic Oval for the second ISU World Cup of the season, running November 21–23. Come witness the unbelievable speed up close and cheer on Team Canada as they race for medals—and fight to lock in their spots at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina.
This is the second in a series of 4 ISU World Cups that determine qualifications for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina and one of 5 World Cups scheduled for the 2025-26 season. Salt Lake City hosted the first world Cup of the season which wrapped up on November 16.
326 athletes competed in Salt Lake City. USA set a World Record in Team Pursuit. Timothy Loubineaud set a World Record in the men's 5000 m. Femke Kok from the Netherlands won gold in both 500 m races, setting a world record time of 36.09 in the Sunday race. She capped off her weekend with a silver in the 1000 m which was won by teammate Jutta Leerdam. Canada's Valerie Maltais won silver in the 3000 m race, setting a personal best in the process. She also won silver in the Mass start and Team pursuit along with teammates Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidmann.
Quick Recap from Day 1
Calgary, AB — Friday, November 21, 2025
The second stop of the 2025–26 ISU Speed Skating World Cup season opened Friday at the famed “Fastest Ice on Earth” inside Calgary’s Olympic Oval — and Day 1 delivered exactly what the venue is known for: blazing times, personal bests across the board, and a thrilling finish to cap off the evening.
The format was simple and intense: B-division races in the morning, A-division races in the afternoon, with every skater racing only once. No playoffs, no second chances — just a pure time trial where a single lap count could make or break a World Cup weekend.
Events on Day 1
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1000m Women
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1000m Men
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3000m Women
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5000m Men
While no world records fell, the speed was there. Multiple athletes put down personal bests, and Calgary’s oval rewarded aggressive pacing and clean technique.
A Stunning Finish in the Men’s 5000m
The final event of the day became an instant classic.
After 5 of 8 heats it looked like crowd favorite, Canada’s Ted-Jan Bloemen, just might win gold! He smashed the track record, igniting the crowd and setting off a chain reaction. Then in the 7th heat, Norway’s Sander Eitrem answered by lowering it again — a reminder of why he’s one of the most feared distance skaters on the circuit.
Then came the shocker.
In the 8th and final heat, American Casey Dawson, who finished just off the podium last week in Salt Lake City, looked destined for another near miss. But over the final three laps he launched into a furious negative split, clawing back time and stopping the clock 0.02 seconds faster than Eitrem to claim the new track record and close out the day with a very engaged crowd in the Oval.
Even France’s Timothy Loubineaud who raced against Eitrem, fourth behind Bloemen, beat the original track record — evidence of just how fast the ice was running.
More to come from day 1...
The ISU World Cup Speed Skating is a Series of Speed Skating competitions which takes place annually since 1984. The series comprises six events (four during an Olympic season), with A Division and B Division races. Skaters can earn points at each competition, and the Skater with the most points on a given distance at the end of the series is the World Cup winner in that distance. The four World Cup Competitions held from November to December serve as qualifying events for entry quotas at the ISU European Championships, and the ISU Four Continents Championships. The whole series of six events serves as qualifying events for the World Single Distances Championships, and/or the World Sprint and Allround Speed Skating Championships.
World Cup titles are awarded in 500m, 1000m, 1500m, combined 5000m/10,000m, and Mass Start for men, and 500m, 1000m, 1500m, the combined 3000m/5000m, and Mass Start for women. Both genders also compete for the World Cup titles in Team Pursuit and Team Sprint.