Double Olympic champion Martina Sáblíková of the Czech Republic is set to compete in the women’s 5000m speed skating event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics after missing the 3000m due to a virus infection.
ISU Skating, the official website of the International Skating Union based in Switzerland, reported on February 11, 2026.
Martina Sáblíková, who has won the 5000m event twice previously at the Olympic Games (2010 and 2014), was unable to compete in the 3000m race earlier in the week because of a virus. She explained that while she was able to skate, competing in the shorter distance would have worsened her condition and prevented participation in the longer event. Despite the setback, Sáblíková expressed excitement about racing in front of friends and family at this, her sixth and final Olympics.
Italian skater Francesca Lollobrigida, the reigning 5000m World Champion, will also take part in the 5000m race. Lollobrigida began her Olympic campaign with a gold medal in the 3000m event held on home ice. She described how support from her family and friends in Italy provided significant motivation, and she celebrated her victory alongside her young son.
Key rivals in the 5000m include Norway’s Ragne Wiklund and Canadian Isabelle Weidemann. Weidemann showed strong endurance in the season’s only 5000m World Cup race in Heerenveen last December where she finished second behind Wiklund. Wiklund started the Olympics with a silver in the 3000m and aims to contend for a medal in both the 1500m and 5000m events.
The Netherlands, having secured the last two Olympic titles in this distance with Esmee Visser and Irene Schouten, will be represented by Merel Conijn and Bente Kerkhoff in Milan. Both came in the top ten in the December World Cup event. The 5000m race at Milano Speed Skating Stadium will feature twelve skaters from nine countries plus one athlete competing under the Authorized Neutral Athlete (AIN) status.
Race pairs have been drawn with Bente Kerkhoff starting against Marina Zueva in the second pair, Merel Conijn competing after the ice cleaning break against Sandrine Tas, while Weidemann faces Wiklund in the penultimate pair. The final pair will see Francesca Lollobrigida race against Martina Sáblíková.
Current records include a world record of 6:39.02 set by Natalya Voronina in 2020, and an Olympic record held by Irene Schouten since 2022. No track record has been established yet at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium.
