The world's top speed skating athletes were in Salt Lake City for the first World Cup of the 2025-26 season. November 14th - 16th the ISU World Cup Speed skating took place in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Day 1 Recap: Records Fall as Speed Skating World Cup Kicks Off in Utah
The 2025–26 ISU Speed Skating World Cup opened in explosive fashion in Salt Lake City on Friday, with one world record and two American records shattered on the very first day of racing.
The action unfolded at the Olympic Oval — often called the fastest ice on earth — where skaters from around the world began a month-long push to secure Olympic quota spots for the 2026 Winter Games. Only results from the first four World Cups count toward those coveted berths, adding extra weight to every race.
American Records Start the Day
Team USA got on the board early when Greta Myers posted a new American record in the women’s 3000m Group B, stopping the clock at 4:01.66.
Not long after, the crowd witnessed something even bigger.
A World Record Drops in the 5000m
France’s Timothy Loubineaud delivered the performance of the night, slicing a second and a half off Nils van der Poel’s world record from 2021. Loubineaud’s winning time — 6:00.23 — set a new global standard.
American long-distance standout Casey Dawson followed up with a national record of his own, lowering his previous mark by more than three seconds with 6:04.40, finishing just outside the medals.
Jordan Stolz Nearly Breaks Another World Record
The final event of the day belonged to Jordan Stolz, who opened his season in the men’s 1000m — one of his signature races — with a win in 1:05.66, just three-tenths shy of his world record. It was the only medal for the U.S. on Day 1.
Stolz, now 21, dominated last year's circuit with 18 straight World Cup victories, sweeping three distance titles and breaking multiple records, including three sea-level world records in Milwaukee. His closest rival, Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands, took bronze.
Dutch Strength in the Women's 1000m
The Netherlands flexed their sprint depth in the women’s 1000m as Jutta Leerdam and Femke Kok went 1–2.
American skaters Brittany Bowe (5th) and Erin Jackson (8th, lifetime best 1:13.72) both narrowly missed the podium.
Early Season Strategy From Stars
Reigning Olympic and World Cup sprint champion Miho Takagi surprised many by skipping the women’s 1000m to skate the 3000m Group B instead — likely using the long distance to tune up for later races.
Joy Beune Takes the First Gold of the Season
Dutch distance specialist Joy Beune claimed the season’s first gold medal in the women’s 3000m, finishing nearly three seconds ahead of Canada’s Valerie Maltais.
Norway’s Ragne Wiklund, last year’s World Cup overall winner in the event, took third.
Casey Dawson’s Continued Rise
Beyond today’s 5000m record, Dawson continues to cement himself as one of the U.S.’s best long-distance skaters. Last season he broke the American record in the 10,000m — a mark that had stood for nearly two decades — and this fall he swept national titles in the 3000m, 5000m, and 10,000m.
How Skaters Qualify for the Olympics
American athletes can secure an Olympic spot through the World Cup circuit in one of two ways:
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Medal at the 2025 World Single Distances Championships AND finish top 5 in any two of the first four World Cups (same distance)
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Finish top 3 in any two of the first four World Cups (same distance)
Even those who pre-qualify must skate the same distance at U.S. Olympic Trials (Jan. 2–6, 2026).
Final quota allocations for all countries will be announced December 19.
What’s Next
World Cup racing continues Saturday, Nov. 15, with the men’s and women’s 500m and 1500m.
Day 1 Podium Results
Men’s 1000m
1st: Jordan Stolz (USA)
2nd: Damian Zurek PB (POL)
3rd: Jenning de Boo (NED)
Men’s 1000m B
1st: Ziwen Lian PB (CHN)
2nd: Hendrik Dombek PB (GER)
3rd: Hyun-Min Oh PB (KOR)
Women’s 1000m
1st: Jutta Leerdam (NED)
2nd: Femke Kok PB (NED)
3rd: Beatrice Lamarche PB (CAN)
Women’s 1000m B
1st: Ellia Smeding (GBR)
2nd: Alexa Scott PB (CAN)
3rd: Min-Sun Kim (KOR)
Women’s 3000m
1st: Joy Beune PB (NED)
2nd: Valerie Maltais PB (CAN)
3rd: Ragne Wiklund (NOR)
Women’s 3000m B
1st: Nadezhda Morozova PB (KAZ)
2nd: Marina Zueva (AIN)
3rd: Kseniia Korzhova PB (AIN)
Men’s 5000m
1st: Timothy Loubineaud (FRA) — World Record, TR, PB
2nd: Metodej Jilek PB (CZE)
3rd: Sander Eitrem PB (NOR)
Men’s 5000m B
1st: Alexander Farthofer PB (AUT)
2nd: Peder Kongshaug PB (NOR)
3rd: Gabriel Groß PB (GER)