SPEED SKATING

Sáblíková back on ice as Lollobrigida chases second gold in longest distance

11 Feb 2026

After she had to skip the 3000m due to a virus infection, double Olympic 5000m champion Martina Sáblíková (CZE), pictured above right*, will be able to skate the longest women's distance at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Thursday, February 12. "I can skate, but not compete," she said on Wednesday.

Francesca Lollobrigida (ITA), pictured above left, will definitely be able to compete. The reigning 5000m World Champion started her Olympic campaign with 3000m gold on home ice last Saturday, and her main rivals will likely be Ragne Wilund (NOR) and Isabelle Weidemann (CAN).

Skating for friends and family

Sáblíková made her Olympic debut in 2006 and won the 5000m in 2010 and 2014. She had hoped to be competitive at her sixth and final Games, but a virus infection shattered that dream.

Martina Sáblíková says she is looking forward to featuring in a 'fun' 5000m race © ISU

"It was heartbreaking," she said. "It was very, very hard to say that I couldn't skate, but I knew that if I would skate the 3000m, I wouldn't have been able to skate the 5000m, because I think it was getting worse. My body would not have accepted it.

"In 5000m, my friends and family will be here and it will be so much fun. So that's why I wanted to go for the 5000m."

Celebrating with friends and family

Lollobrigida has already experienced fun in Milan with family and friends when she won the 3000m on Saturday.

"Knowing that I was in Italy, knowing that all my family was there cheering for me, really gave me a crazy boost,” she said.” I did it for myself, but also for everyone who has always believed in me."

She celebrated the medal with her two-year-old son, Tomasso.

"I did it for him, too, so that one day he will be proud of me, not only for being an Olympic champion, but for everything we have achieved together."

In the 5000m, Lollobrigida may even have a better chance to win. At last year's World Championships in Hamar, she secured her first World title in the longest distance, and finished fifth in the 3000m.

Speed and stamina

Weidemann, who finished fifth in Saturday's 3000m, definitely has a better chance in the 5000m. The longer it gets, the faster the Canadian endurance specialist seems to go.

With a second-place finish behind Wiklund at the Heerenveen World Cup in December, the only time the 5000m was on the World Cup program this season, Weidemann showed her incredible stamina. While all the other skaters saw their lap times go up in the final part of the race, the Canadian was the only one to maintain her pace almost throughout to the finish line.

Isabelle Weidemann demonstrated her incredible stamina at the Heerenveen World Cup in December © ISU

Eventually, Weidemann came 1.10s short of Wiklund in that race, but her last lap had been .90s faster than Wiklund's. The margins are small.

Wiklund started the Olympic Games with a silver medal in the 3000m and was happy with the prize, but admits she dreams about another color: “I still have two more chances (1500m and 5000m). For now, I will enjoy and celebrate this, and then I will reset and focus on the 5000m.”

With Esmee Visser (2018) and Irene Schouten (2022), the Netherlands topped the podium at the last two Olympic Games. In Milan, Merel Conijn and Bente Kerkhoff will defend the Orange honor. They were fifth and eighth in the World Cup 5000m in Heerenveen in December.

The draw

Kerkhoff will start against Marina Zueva (AIN) in the second pair, while Conijn takes on Sandrine Tas (BEL) in the first pair after the ice cleaning break.

Weidemann faces Wiklund in the penultimate pairing, while Lollobrigida meets Sáblíková in the final heat.

The numbers