An example of perseverance, Laurent Dubreuil wins the long-coveted medal

It was the medal he had been missing; the achievement he wanted to complete his career.

At his third Olympic Games, Laurent Dubreuil captured the bronze medal in the men’s 500m long track speed skating event at Milano Cortina 2026.

After earning silver in the 1000m four years ago, Dubreuil once again stood on the Olympic podium, but this time in his signature event.

Fourth in the distance at Beijing 2022 by a mere 0.03, the 500m medal means a great deal to the sprint specialist, who has earned four world championship medals in the event.

“It’s a medal in the 500m—I’m a 500m guy. I had an Olympic medal in the 1000m, but it bothered me not to have one in the 500m. That’s my distance.

“It was special to win a medal in the 1000m at the last Games, but if I had finished my career without a medal in the 500m, part of me would have thought, ‘You’re way too good not to have won an Olympic medal in the 500m.’”

Skating in the 10th of 15 pairs, Dubreuil posted a time of 34.26 seconds to break the Olympic record and take the provisional lead. Ten skaters were still to come—and they were among the very best.

Known for rarely showing much emotion, the 33-year-old admitted he experienced some of the most stressful minutes of his life as he waited to see what his rivals would do before learning the final outcome.

“These were the 14 most stressful minutes of my life. I sat down on the ice because I thought that if someone beat me, I might collapse from disappointment. And if I was already sitting down, at least I wouldn’t have far to fall.”

Satisfied with his performance at the oval, Dubreuil, an astute analyst of his sport, knew the competition would be fierce.

“There are incredible skaters on the circuit. The time I skated today, [Damian] Zurek has done that two or three times this year at sea level, so I knew he could beat me,” he said of the Polish skater, who finished fourth.

Dubreuil also knew the main podium contenders were in the 13th pair: American Jordan Stolz and Dutch skater Jenning de Boo, aged 21 and 22 respectively.

“An Olympic record is nice, but I knew it wouldn’t last. Jordan and Jenning are just too good. It’s like Pogačar and Vingegaard on a climb at the Tour de France.”

The two young stars were ultimately the only skaters to finish ahead of the Canadian, with Stolz winning in 33.77 seconds, 11-hundredths of a second ahead of de Boo.

This second Olympic medal of his career caps a challenging season for Dubreuil.

“It’s been a tough year on the World Cup circuit. I knew I was capable of winning medals. I was skating the best times of my life in training, then I’d get to races and finish 12th. Some days, doubt crept in. But I knew I had time and that physically I was in peak shape. Yes, I had doubts, but I never completely stopped believing.”

His daughter, Rose, used to seeing him on international podiums, had to adjust to her dad’s more modest results and adapt her encouragement.

“This year when she cheered me on, it was, ‘That’s still good, Dad—you finished eighth.’ Two years ago she didn’t say that. If I finished fifth, she’d say, ‘Dad, that was terrible.’ But this year, eighth was good because I just wasn’t moving the way I used to,” he said with a laugh.

“It’s a lesson in perseverance for myself and for my kids. They saw that it was a difficult year. My daughter is old enough to understand how much perseverance it took. I hope it’s a good example for her for the rest of her life.”

Two other Canadians competed in the event. Anders Johnson finished 16th and Cédrick Brunet placed 23rd.

Happy with his performance, Johnson is motivated for the future.

“I feel like this is just the start. I’ve got a taste for it and I’m really excited to come back [to the Games] and compete for a medal in four years.”

He referred to Dubreuil winning his medal as an “unbelievable” moment.

“I know that he was the favourite going into 2022 and for him to come back and skate an Olympic record there and then the boys just got him at the end there, but wow, winning bronze and at his last Games.

“So happy for him. Congrats Larry.”

So while Dubreuil hopes he set an example of perseverance for his children today, one thing is certain: he also inspired one of his teammates to believe in his dreams.

There are still strong medal prospects for Team Canada at the oval. In the women’s team pursuit, the defending Olympic champions posted the fastest time in the quarterfinals. On Tuesday, the Canadian trio of Isabelle Weidemann, Valérie Maltais and Ivanie Blondin will face the Americans in the semifinals to determine whether they advance to the A or B final, both scheduled for later that day.