Isabelle Weidemann skates to Canada's 1st medal of Beijing 2022 with bronze in women's 3,000m

The first Canadian medal of Beijing 2022 belongs to speed skater Isabelle Weidemann.

The Ottawa native earned bronze in the women's 3,000 metres with a time of three minutes 58.64 seconds on Saturday in China.

Weidemann becomes the first Canadian woman to climb the podium in long track since Vancouver 2010, when Kristina Groves also took bronze in the same event.

"It's pretty surreal right now, I'm pretty emotional. But I'm very excited," she told CBC Sports' Anastasia Bucsis after the race.

WATCH | Weidemann captures Canada's 1st medal in Beijing:

The Netherlands' Irene Schouten won gold in an Olympic record time of 3:56.93, while Italian Francesca Lollobrigida snagged silver in 3:58.06.

Weidemann, 26, took a steady approach to her race after watching multiple previous skaters burn out after strong starts at the National Skating Centre, also known as the Ice Ribbon, in Beijing.

The Canadian, ranked first in long distances on the World Cup tour, remained consistent through every 400m split, never eclipsing the 32-second mark in any lap.

The success of the approach paid out in real time even as Weidemann, skating in the inside lane, fell behind Norway's Ragne Wiklund on the outside to start.

"I was a little bit shaky at the start. I was really nervous going to the line. And I knew that I just had to get through the first few laps before I could start to fight and really show the work that I've done," she said.

But Weidemann, who finished seventh in the event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, slowly caught Wiklund in the back stretch, and her time was good enough to sit in first place with one pairing to come.

"I think I hit about four laps to go and I could see my pair was starting to slow down a little bit and I knew I had a little bit more so I think at that point I was like, 'I can fight this.'"

Schouten and Lollobrigida pipped Weidemann in the final pairing to take the top two spots on the podium.

No matter, the race can only be described as a success for the Canadian, who said beforehand she was just concentrating on herself.

"I really want to be in control of how I skate and how I go to the line. That's really the main focus for me. I want to feel like I was dialled in and did everything in my power," she said.

Safe to say Weidemann did just that — and she was rewarded with the bronze medal.

Fellow Canadian Valérie Maltais, a converted short track skater from Saguenay, Que., placed 12th in her Olympic long track debut at 4:04.27. Ottawa's Ivanie Blondin was 14th in 4:06.40.

The trio will have plenty more chances to reach the podium in Beijing. Together, they represent the favourite in the team pursuit race. Blondin, meanwhile, is better known for her mass start prowess. Weidemann is also a contender in the 5,000m.

Weidemann's brother Jake is a member of Canada's next generation speed skating team. The family relocated to Calgary to help the siblings pursue their Olympic dreams.

WATCH | Weidemann reflects following bronze-winning performance:

That dream became reality on Saturday in China.

"I have a big family and so many friends and staff here, people that believed in me for so long," Isabelle said. "I am so happy be bringing something back for them.

History for German skater

In the first pairing, Germany's Claudia Pechstein became the oldest woman to compete at a Winter Olympics and just the second athlete — and first woman — to compete in eight Winter Games.

Pechstein's career includes nine Olympic medals and a two-year doping ban, which she continues to fight in court. She tied Japanese ski jumper Noriaki Kasai for the most Winter Olympics.

Pechstein, who turns 50 two days after the end of the Beijing Games, finished with a time of 4:17.16 seconds in the opening pair of the event. She'd held the Olympic record in the distance at 3:57.70 since 2002 until it was broken by Schouten on Saturday.

The atmosphere at the Ice Ribbon is nothing like previous Games or World Cups, where Dutch fans in particular are known for their garish orange outfits and clanging cowbells.

COVID-19 safety measures restricted the crowd to only a couple hundred fans, who politely clapped as cheering isn't permitted.