French speed skater Loubineaud puts progress first as he prepares for Olympic debut

Jan 14 : Speed skater Timothy Loubineaud shattered the men's 5,000 metres world record two months ago but will be content to walk away from his first Olympics without a medal if he feels he has turned up in the best possible condition.

The Frenchman stunned the field at the World Cup in Salt Lake City in November, crossing the line in six minutes and 0.23 seconds to smash Swedish great Nils van der Poel's 2021 record of 6:01.56.

While the record thrust Loubineaud into the spotlight, it was steady performances across Olympic qualifying races that secured his status as a leading challenger in the 5,000 m, 10,000 m and mass-start disciplines in Milano-Cortina.

"I was pretty much not the most confident skater because the weekend before this race (in Salt Lake City), I saw some very good times from the trickier races from the Americans," Loubineaud told Reuters.

"But I never tried to focus on others - I just focused on myself and did everything as best as I could.

"The first step I did on the ice in Salt Lake, the first thing I thought was, 'Oh, today is going to be super fast.'

"That (record) was a pure moment of joy because I worked really hard during the summer to be a better skater. It was cool that it finally paid off."

Beyond the record, Loubineaud has built an impressive resume on the World Cup circuit, earning a bronze in the 10,000 m at Heerenveen in 2025-26 and a gold in the mass-start at Nagano in 2024-25.

When Loubineaud broke the world record, one of the first congratulatory messages came from his idol and friend, 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic champion Van der Poel.

"He has played a huge role in my career," Loubineaud said. "He taught me so many small details that only he can. I'm proud that together we made the skater I am