Santos-Griswold and Stoddard Combine To Win Three More Medals At Second World Tour Stop In Montreal

The ISU Short Track World Tour returned to Montreal for a second straight weekend to start the 2025-26 season, and U.S. teammates Kristen Santos-Griswold and Corinne Stoddard combined to win three more medals in the Quebec city.

Santos-Griswold, the reigning World Tour Women’s Overall champion, captured her first medals of the season by finishing third in both the 500m and 1500m. Stoddard, who medaled at three distances last week, won her first Silver medal of the season in the Women’s 1500m and finished fourth at two other distances.

In six individual races this season, Stoddard has never finished lower than fourth and ranks second in the World Tour Women’s standings behind Canada’s Courtney Sarault.

In the 1000m on Saturday, Stoddard attempted to strike from behind but fell following a collision with Italy’s Elisa Confortola and crashed into the wall on the final lap as she started her move. Confortola was issued a penalty, and Stoddard took fourth place in a race that Sarault won.

“I was trying not to lead from the front this time,” Stoddard said, “and I think that decision bit me on the butt a little. There was so much movement, so much bumping, but I’m learning race by race.”

Stoddard and Santos-Griswold broke through on Sunday.

Stoddard won her quarterfinal and semifinal heats in the 1500m, and then she led every lap of the final until three-time Olympic champion Choi Minjeong of South Korea bolted to the outside and overtook Stoddard with half a lap remaining in the race. Choi won with a time of 2:17.399, just .117 seconds ahead of Stoddard.

“I led the whole race. I was feeling really good, and I thought I had it,” Stoddard said, “but Minjeong got me on that last lap. Her tactics are really good. She played the right game.”

Santos-Griswold was just behind her 2022 Olympic teammate in third, crossing the line in 2:17.669.

Santos-Griswold, who has been recovering from a back injury, added another Bronze medal on Sunday in the 500m. Her time of 42.429 trailed only winner Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands (42.258) and runner-up Sarault (42.326). Stoddard finished just behind Santos-Griswold in 42.473.

“I’m happy to be back on the podium,” Santos-Griswold said. “It was something I wasn’t sure I was able to do at the moment. I definitely feel like myself today. I haven’t had results so far this season, so that kind of took the pressure off a little bit.

“The worst thing that could happen was I might not do anything again,” she added. “That helped me dial in today. It feels like I still have a way to go, but it’s coming back a little.”

Stoddard and Santos-Griswold have combined to win six medals in the first two weekends of World Tour competition. With the next stop in Poland a month away, the plan is Utah for training.

“I have been really strong,” Stoddard said. “The physical ability is there, it’s just my tactics that need to change. Once I dial that in, hopefully before February, hopefully my physical and tactical will both be right and I’ll get that Gold.

“Now I go home, train hard, skate with Kristen and the boys, lead a ton of laps, and go to Poland and try to get that Gold I want.”

Brandon Kim and Clayton DeClemente led the U.S. men in Montreal. Both made it to the B Final in the Men’s 1500m, finishing third and fourth, respectively.

The U.S. placed fourth in the Men’s 5000m Relay. The U.S. women won the B Final in the 3000m Relay.

The World Tour resumes in Gdansk, Poland, Nov. 20-23.

Paul D. Bowker has been writing about Olympic and Paralympic sports since 1996, when he was an assistant bureau chief in Atlanta. He is a freelance contributor to USSpeedskating.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.