Best Canadian Speed Skaters in History and Their Sports Achievements

Many Canadian speed skaters have made history by winning many medals in various prestigious competitions, including the Olympic Games. Their names are well known in the world of sports, and they are a national pride and examples to follow for many beginning skaters.

Best Canadian Speed Skaters

Canadian speed skaters have won over 500 medals in the long and short distances at various international competitions. This makes this sport the strongest among all winter sports in the country.

Alexander Hurd

alex hurd
Sport

Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

July 21, 1906

Place of Birth

Montréal, Quebec

*LT and ST stand for long and short tracks respectively.

This Canadian skater was an Olympic medalist twice. In 1932, he won a silver and a bronze medal at the Lake Placid competition.

Cathy Priestner​

Cathy Priestner
Sport

Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

May 27, 1956

Place of Birth

Windsor, Ontario

A famous athlete who won a silver medal in speed skating at a distance of 500 m at the Winter Games in 1976. In 1975, she took third place at the World Championships in the all-around sprint category.

Gaétan Boucher

Boucher, Gaetan
Sport

Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

May 10, 1958

Place of Birth
Charlesbourg, Quebec

The collection of this Canadian athlete has many valuable awards. In 1980, he took second place at the Olympic Games in the 1000 m. Gaétan is also remembered for becoming a two-time champion of the Games in 1984. Then he won the 1000 and 1500 m skating races. In 1984, he added another gold medal to his collection at the World Championships. Boucher’s other sports achievements include second place at the World Championships in sprint all-around (4 times), world champion in short track speed skating (10 times), overall champion in 1977 and 1980, and three all-around silver medalists.

Susan Auch

Susan Auch
Sport

Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

March 1, 1966

Place of Birth

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Susan repeatedly participated in the Olympics. She was a silver medalist twice at the 500 m Olympic Games, which took place in the winter. The Canadian athlete also holds the title of two-time world champion in the short track category.

Catriona Le May Doan​

Catriona Le May Doan
Sport

Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

December 23, 1970

Place of Birth

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Another pride of Canada, as well as a two-time Olympic champion in 1998 and 2002 at a distance of 500 m. Catriona has become the world champion in this sport five times.

Clara Hughes​

Clara Hughes
Sport

Cycling – Road
Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

September 27, 1972

Place of Birth

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Clara is a versatile soldier. She is known for her success in cycling and speed skating. In cycling, the athlete won two medals, while in speed skating, she managed to become an Olympic medalist four times. In the history of the Olympics, Clara entered as one of the five athletes who became winners of both summer and winter competitions in various sports. Hughes is also the only one to boast more than one medal from both Olympics.

Marc Gagnon

Marc Gagnon
Sport

Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

May 24, 1975

Place of Birth

Chicoutimi, Quebec

This athlete repeatedly won first place at the Olympics (three times) and also won bronze twice. Gagnon became the absolute world champion four times. He is also a multiple World Championship medalist.

Jeremy Wotherspoon

Jeremy Wotherspoon
Sport

Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

October 26, 1976

Place of Birth

Humboldt, Saskatchewan

At the Games in 1998, Jeremy won gold in the 500 m. In the all-around sprint category, he became the champion four times. Wotherspoon also holds the title of four-time world champion in individual distances.

Kristina Groves

Kristina Groves
Sport

Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

December 4, 1976

Place of Birth

Ottawa, Ontario

At the Olympic Games, this speed skater won a silver medal four times and a bronze medal once. She also holds the title of three-time winner of the World Championship in individual distances. Kristina has won the North American Classic All-Around three times. In a team, Groves set world and Olympic records.

Cindy Klassen

Cindy Klassen
Sport

Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

August 12, 1979

Place of Birth

Winnipeg, Manitoba

No wonder this athlete is listed among the best Canadian speed skaters. She is the owner of a gold medal in the 1500 m, which she won at the 2006 Games. Cindy also holds the title of three-time world champion. Repeatedly she won prizes both at the World Championships and at the Olympics. At the Winter Games, she won one gold, two silver and three bronze medals. This makes Cindy the most titled Olympic athlete from Canada. Klassen entered the history of Canadian sports as a multiple record holder. Now, the record short time to overcome the distance of 3000 m belongs to her.

Christine Nesbitt

Christine Nesbitt
Sport

Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

May 17, 1985

Place of Birth

Melbourne, Australia

She took gold in the 1000 m at the 2010 Games. She also took second place in the team race at the 2006 Olympics. In 2011, Christine became the world champion in the sprint all-around. At the World Championships, Nesbitt took first place seven times (at different distances). The Canadian athlete also boasts two gold medals she won at the Classic All-Around World Championships. Kristin has also repeatedly won first place in the World Cup.

Denny Morrison

Denny Morrison
Sport

Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

September 8, 1985

Place of Birth

Chetwynd, British Columbia

Morrison became the Olympic champion in the 1500 m, as a team member. The speed skater also won awards at the World Championships nine times.

Ted-Jan Bloemen

Ted Jan Bloemen
Sport

Speed Skating – LT

Date of Birth

August 16, 1986

Place of Birth

Leiderdorp, Netherlands

The Canadian speed skater is originally from the Netherlands. He holds the title of world champion, as well as the owner of the silver medal of the 2018 Olympics. Bloemen won once and became the World Championship medalist four times. He is also the world champion in speed skating among juniors.

Canada’s National Speed Skating Teams

The national speed skating team includes the most talented athletes in the country, who became the best in the previous year’s competitions. They compete for medals at the international level at:

ice skating image

Short Track Team

The Canadian short track team has already won 200 medals at the World Championships and 33 medals at the Olympics. The headquarters of the national club is located at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal, where the stars of Canadian and world speed skating continue to be born.

Long Track Team

In terms of long track performance, a Canadian team has over 150 World Championship and 37 Olympic medals. The national team trains at the Olympic Oval in Calgary, as well as in Quebec at the Centre de glaces Intact Assurance.