On February 8, 2026, Speed Skating Canada announced that Valérie Maltais won the first medal for the country at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, a bronze in the women’s 3000-metre long track event. This national success is being felt in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, where local sports leaders are looking to use the win to boost interest in the community rink.
The 35-year-old athlete, a veteran of five Olympic Games, secured her first individual Olympic medal during the race on February 7, 2026. According to the Canadian Olympic Committee, Maltais remains the only Canadian to have won Olympic medals in both short-track and long-track speed skating, a historic feat she first achieved at the 2022 Beijing Games before switching her focus entirely to the longer outdoor track.
The Dawson Creek Speed Skating Club, which has been part of the community since 1955, is using the Olympic momentum to help grow its membership. The club has seen its numbers drop from about 70 skaters in the 1980s to roughly 22 in recent years, and organizers hope the national spotlight will encourage more families to sign up for programs.
Local residents have been invited to watch parties and fundraising events to celebrate the win and support the sport at the South Peace Speed Skating Oval. Club leaders are focused on showing how accessible the sport is to local youth, following in the footsteps of regional athletes who have competed at high levels in the past.
