Speed skaters made perfect Canadian song choice to celebrate Olympic gold
Isabelle Weidemann, Valerie Maltais, and Ivanie Blondin celebrated in style after winning Canada’s third gold medal of the Milano Cortina Olympics.
You couldn’t wipe the smiles off the faces of the three speed skaters after the race. A tight-knit team, they’re going out on top, as they said this would be their last Olympic Games.
Maltais joked that they’re a “team of mesdames,” poking fun at their ages. She and Blondin are both 35, while Weidemann is 30.
They’re back-to-back Olympic champs (Leah Hennel/COC)
The speed-skating trio successfully defended their Olympic title in team pursuit, beating the Netherlands in the final.
That’s when a classic Shania Twain song played inside the Milano Speed Skating Stadium.
As they skated toward a group of Canadian fans in the stands, Weidemann, Maltais, and Blondin were grooving to “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” as they did their victory lap.
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We’d give credit to the DJ in Italy, but it wasn’t his idea. It was Blondin’s.
The 35-year-old Ottawa native actually made the song request a couple days ago.
“I had one request to our manager, Tyler, before,” Blondin explained when asked about the song by Daily Hive. “I was like, ‘I have one request, if we win, Shania Twain has to play.'”
Ivanie Blondin shared the text 😂 pic.twitter.com/w1zNolxunY
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) February 18, 2026
So, why Shania?
“She’s iconic,” said Weidemann.
Gold for Canada in three straight days 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
Isabelle Weidemann, Valerie Maltais, and Ivanie Blondin win gold in women’s team pursuit 🥇🥇🥇pic.twitter.com/e49Nw8gJCl
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) February 17, 2026
It seems Shania is also a fan of theirs.
“She posted about us after Beijing,” Weidemann explained.
“She honoured us on International Women’s Day, which is pretty cool,” Blondin said. “We also made a TikTok to her a long time ago. I grew up listening to Shania Twain.”
Weidemann, Maltais, and Blondin also made an appearance in her Netflix documentary.
“Would love to meet her one day,” said Blondin. “I’ve never met her, just putting that out there!”