On and off the ice, it’s hard to keep up with Joshua Boudreau. Boudreau is fresh from a triple medal win at the Special Olympic World Winter Games in Turin and took the time to stop and chat with True North FM.
When the skater from the city of Yellowknife first laced up and hit the ice, he was about 10 years old but had little interest in speed skating, he remembered. Boudreau started out with figure skating, and then a family member suggested he try out speed skating.
“At first I didn’t want to try it,” said Boudreau, but it wasn’t long before he “fell in love” with the sport.
It’s been over a decade now since Boudreau took up speed skating. Since that time he’s picked up a treasure trove of medals. After winning two golds at the 2020 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games, he picked up another two golds and a bronze at the 2024 games. The veteran speed skater has certainly made a mark on the sport of speed skating internationally.
Flash forward to March 2025 and Boudreau is still picking up medals. This time taking home two silver medals and a bronze at the Special Olympic World Winter Games in Italy.
After Boudreau’s 777 m victory speed skate on March 13, fans across Canada and the crowd at the games in Italy cheered him on.
On social media, fans and well-wishers praised the showstopping moves of the talented speed skater and celebrated another win for Canada.
“Years of training and dedication to achieve this moment, congratulations Josh! Go Canada Go!” one fan posted on Facebook.
Boudreau told True North FM that throughout the games in Turin he kept positive, “I knew it was going to happen.”
Boudreau explained that on the way to the games he sacrificed a bit of sleep due to the excitement and the time zone change. He was able to rest a bit better on the flight back to the city of Yellowknife, wearing his medals.
To avoid setting off the security sensors, Boudreau explained he had to temporarily turn his new medals over at airport security to avoid setting off the metal sensors. True North asked Boudreau what it was like to hand over not one, but three Olympic medals, albeit temporarily. “I do it all the time,” he said.
Back home in Yellowknife, he was greeted with cheers by a crowd of fans.
In the weeks since his return, Boudreau continues to receive words and messages of congratulations from people across the city.
Despite his impressive victories as a star athlete, Boudreau is taking it all in stride, remaining humble about his achievements.
“I wanted to focus on doing my best, and then medals come later,” he explained.
In Turin, the speed skater from Yellowknife competed alongside thousands of athletes from 102 delegations across the globe.
Boudreau appreciated the positive energy at the games and the opportunity to interact with athletes from around the world.
“The atmosphere was really good, I met people from Sweden, Hungary, China, Denmark and Korea,” said Boudreau.
Boudreau said although he was super busy training, competing and attending the games he was able to spend a bit of time exploring Italy’s rustic buildings. “It was pretty cool,” he said. “Just seeing Italy in general,” he explained.
Next, the jet-setting, multi-medallist athlete is getting right back to training, this time for the Special Olympics Alberta Summer Games in July. At the summer games in the city of Grande Prairie Boudreau will compete in the track and field competition.
When asked what advice he has for young athletes Boudreau replied,
“If you want to do well, just train hard, and keep at it.”
