British long track trio Ellia Smeding, Cornelius Kersten and Gemma Cooper will line up at the Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City this weekend as the 2025–26 ISU Speed Skating World Cup gets underway. The event is the first stop on the World Cup circuit and forms part of the Olympic qualification pathway for Milano-Cortina 2026, with crucial ranking points on offer over three days of racing.
Ellia Smeding targets middle-distance success
Ellia Smeding returns to World Cup action in her specialist middle-distance events, racing the 1000m on Friday, the 1500m on Saturday and stepping down to the 500m on Sunday.
Smeding made history at Beijing 2022 as Team GB’s first female Olympic long track speed skater in 42 years, ending a generations-long wait for British representation in the discipline. Since then, she has continued to raise the bar for British long track, breaking national records across the 500m, 1000m and 1500m
With strong World Cup and championship performances in recent seasons and proven speed over both 1000m and 1500m, Smeding will be looking to lay down fast early-season times on the famously quick Salt Lake City ice.
Cornelius Kersten lines up across all three sprint distances
Cornelius Kersten will also skate a full programme in Salt Lake City, matching Smeding’s schedule with the 1000m on Friday, 1500m on Saturday and 500m on Sunday.
Kersten made his own piece of Olympic history in Beijing, becoming the first long track speed skater to represent Team GB in 30 years. He followed that breakthrough with a landmark bronze medal in the 1000m at the 2023 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships – Great Britain’s first medal at the event and a major statement of his world-class credentials.
A regular on the World Cup circuit in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m, Kersten has established himself among the world’s leading middle-distance skaters and will be aiming to convert that form into important Olympic qualification points at this opening round.
Gemma Cooper returns to the World Cup circuit in record-breaking form
This weekend also marks a significant moment for British speed skating as Gemma Cooper returns to the World Cup circuit after two years away. A long-term member of the British Long Track Programme, Cooper has been part of the sport’s elite ranks since 2014, building on an earlier international career in Short Track and success in figure skating.
Her comeback season is already turning heads. In October, Cooper achieved the 3000m qualifying time in Calgary, earning her place back among the world’s best distance skaters. Just a week later she returned to Salt Lake City and broke the British 5000m record – a performance that underlined both her form and her confidence heading into this Olympic cycle.
Over the course of her long track career, Cooper has:
Competed at three World Championships (2021, 2022, 2023)
Achieved a career-best 8th place in the Mass Start at the 2021 World Championships
Set and currently holds the British records in both the 3000m and 5000m
Regularly raced the 3000m, 5000m and Mass Start
In Salt Lake City she will skate the 3000m on Friday before lining up in the Mass Start on Sunday, bringing valuable experience and proven distance strength to the British team.
British race schedule in Salt Lake City
With Olympic quota places on the line and racing on some of the fastest ice in the world, the opening World Cup of the season promises to be an exciting test for the British squad.
Fans will be able to follow start lists and live results via official ISU channels, with updates and reaction shared across British Ice Skating’s digital platforms throughout the weekend. You can also watch the ENTIRE event across the