Corinne Stoddard skated her way to bronze medals in each of the three individual distances at the ISU Short Track World Tour opener in Montreal, Canada, landing her in second place in the world rankings. 

For skaters, this year's World Tour brings even more pressure than usual. Not only does it serve as the primary way to earn qualifying points for the upcoming Winter Olympics, but the circuit also has been shortened from six events to four in order to conclude before the Games arrive in February, meaning each race carries more weight than in years previous.

Stoddard, who finished last year's tournament in third overall, was the only American to reach the podium over the course of the weekend. Her placement in the 500m was the first time she ever had made a World Tour podium in the distance.

In her typical stoic fashion, Stoddard commanded each qualifying race she competed in, winning her heat in each round except for the women's 500m semifinals, in which she placed 2nd by less than sixth-hundredths of a second.

Kristen Santos-Griswold, who last year became the third U.S.-born skater to win the coveted Crystal Globe trophy, made just one A Final — the 1500m, in which she finished 6th — due to a handful of unfortunate crashes and late surges from her opponents. Her overall performance throughout the weekend and her victory in the 500m B Final, however, earned her enough points to place 7th in the overall rankings so far.

Last season, Stoddard and Santos-Griswold accounted for each of the United States' 18 podium finishes on the World Tour, collecting nine apiece. 

No American man advanced to any A Final during the competition, though Brandon Kim competed in the 1500m B Final. He placed 7th.

Other familiar faces — like last season's men's Crystal Globe winner William Dandjinou and women's world No. 2 Xandra Velzeboer — also picked up significant wins. The men's 1500m field, however, was disrupted by the emergence of South Korea's Rim Jong-Un, a 17-year-old skater and two-time defending world junior champion in the distance. Over the last two laps of the A Final, Rim flew past his competitors, maintaining a dominant lead through the finish line to secure a gold medal in his World Tour debut. 

Rim also secured a silver medal in the men's 1000m. After the first weekend of competition, he stands as the second-best skater in World Tour rankings.

The World Tour picks up again Oct. 16-19 for its second of two back-to-back events in Montreal. 

Overall results from the four-leg tournament determine both the number of Olympic quota spots each country is afforded and which athletes are eligible to fulfil those spots. A skater may qualify for their country's Olympic roster in two ways: by earning a medal in any distance in any World Tour event, or by earning two top-20 finishes in any individual distance at any World Tour event.

The short track competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics begins Feb. 10.

Below are the full results from the weekend: