Laurent Dubreuil secured the bronze medal in the men’s 500 metres speed skating event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, marking Canada’s first medal in this event since 1998.
According to CBC Sports in Canada, Quebec native Laurent Dubreuil completed the race in a time of 34.26 seconds at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium. At 33 years old, he was the oldest competitor in a field of 29 skaters.
Dubreuil had narrowly missed the podium in the same event four years earlier at the Beijing Olympics, finishing just 0.03 seconds shy of a medal with a time of 34.522 seconds. That day, China’s Gao Tingyu set an Olympic record with a time of 34.32 seconds. However, during Saturday’s final at Milano, American Jordan Stolz broke the Olympic record with a winning time of 33.37 seconds, followed by Dutch skater Jenning de Boo who took silver with 33.88 seconds. Dubreuil held the Olympic record for nine minutes during the event before Stolz’s performance.
This bronze medal represents Dubreuil’s second Olympic medal and the first Canadian men’s medal in the 500m since Kevin Overlund earned bronze at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games. Poland’s Damian Zurek came close to challenging Dubreuil, finishing fourth with a time of 34.35 seconds.
