Jordan Belchos

Biography

Jordan Belchos competed at his first major multi-sport competition at TORONTO 2015, winning Canada’s first ever Pan Am Games medal in roller speed skating with his bronze medal performance in the 10,000m points race. Belchos had returned to the wheeled version of speed skating after spending most of the previous decade on the ice. 

In his first year of representing Canada in long track speed skating, Belchos competed at the 2007 ISU World Junior Championships. He finished 13th overall, improving to eighth overall the next year. He made his ISU World Cup debut in November 2008 and became one of Canada’s top skaters in the long distances (5000m/10,000m).

Belchos came just short of qualifying for Sochi 2014 in the 10,000m, missing out by 0.06 of a second after coming back from a concussion. His resiliency was tested again when he broke his knee while skating short track in July 2014. But he came out of that rough patch freshly motivated to no longer settle for mediocrity. He didn’t miss his next opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games, going on to finish fifth in the 10,000m and seventh with the team pursuit at PyeongChang 2018. He made his second Olympic appearance at Beijing 2022 where he was a finalist in the mass start and helped Canada to a fifth-place finish in the team pursuit. 

Belchos has competed at eight editions of the World Single Distances Championships as well as five World Allround Championships, dating back to his first appearance at each in 2012. He is a three-time world championship medallist in the team pursuit, helping Canada take silver in 2015 and 2021 as well as a bronze in 2016. In 2020, Belchos won his first individual medal at the World Single Distances, claiming silver in the mass start as he shared the podium with bronze medallist teammate Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu. He came close to the mass start podium again at the 2021 Worlds, finishing fourth. It was also in 2020 that he had his best performance at the World Allrounds, finishing third in the 5000m to help him place eighth overall.  

In 2012-13, Belchos finished third overall in the World Cup mass start standings. At the World Cup stop in Calgary in November 2015, Belchos won his first career medal on the circuit with a team pursuit gold. He would go on to win multiple World Cup medals with the team pursuit over the next few years. In December 2020, he earned his first individual World Cup medal when he captured mass start gold in Nagano. 

A Little More About Jordan

Getting into the Sport: Started inline skating at age 9 and competed at the world championships in 2004 and 2005… Began doing long track speed skating at age 16 after being recruited through an Own the Podium program… Outside Interests: Would like to become an industrial designer, architect or urban planner… Enjoys watching the Toronto Blue Jays in the summer and the Toronto Maple Leafs in the winter… Odds and Ends: Inspired by American Derek Parra, who was also an inline skater who transitioned to long track speed skating and won gold and silver at Salt Lake City 2002… His collection from his travels includes a cowbell from Bavaria, mini wooden skates from the Netherlands, a beer stein from Berlin and a Viking bowl from Norway… Favourite motto: Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it…