Canadian speed skaters win seven short track World Cup medals in Germany
Feature photo: Marianne St-Gelais celebrates her 1000m gold medal at the ISU World Cup in Dresden, Germany on February 6, 2016. Photo: ISU World Cup Short Track
Marianne St-Gelais and Charles Hamelin led the short track team to seven ISU World Cup medals in Dresden, Germany, after they each added another gold on Sunday.
A day after winning the men’s and women’s 1000m races, Olympians St-Gelais and Hamelin were back on top of the podium in the 500m. St-Gelais claimed her tenth individual medal of the season, after racing 42.956 seconds to win gold. Great Britain’s Elise Christie took silver in 42.803s, while Laura van Ruijven of the Netherlands won bronze (43.46s).
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Marianne St-Gelais reacts after crossing the finish line as she won the women’s 500 m final at the ISU Short track World Cup event in Dresden, Germany, Sunday Feb. 7, 2016.
In the men’s event Hamelin displayed exactly why he’s the current World Cup leader in the 500m, after racing 40.091s to win gold. Russians Semem Elistratov (40.236s) and Dmitry Migunov (40.288s) claimed the final spots on the podium, placing second and third respectively. Canada’s Samuel Girard just missed the podium after finishing fourth in Sunday’s final.
Alexander Fathoullin made his World Cup 1500m debut one to remember, with a silver medal in the men’s event with a time of two minutes and 19.472s. Seo Yi Ra of Korea edged out the Canadian to claim gold in 2:19.358, while his teammate Kwak Yoon-Gy won bronze in 2:22.454.
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Charles Hamelin celebrates while crossing the finish line during the men’s 500 m final at the ISU Short track World Cup event in Dresden, Germany, Sunday Feb. 7, 2016.
Fathloullin and Hamelim joined Charle Cournoyer and Girard for the 5000m relay. The squad won Canada’s final medal of weekend, after finishing second in time of 6:43.363. The Russians topped the podium and won gold in 6:44.410, while the United States took bronze in 6:43.219.
The short track team moves on to the final World Cup stop of the season next weekend in Dordrecht, Netherlands inside the two year window to the next Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang.
Saturday, February 6
Canadian short track speed skaters won three ISU World Cup medals – two gold and one silver – on Saturday in Dresden, Germany.
At the fifth short track World Cup event, Olympian Marianne St-Gelais won Canada’s first medal of the competition in the women’s 1000m. After finishing first the qualifying races, St-Gelais went on to win the event in one minute and 30.72s. Tao Jiaying of China came out on top of a close battle for second finishing in 1:31.20, to beat Petra Jaszapati of Hungary in third (1:31.578). Canada’s Jamie MacDonald also competed in the women’s final and placed fifth in a time of 1:32.42.
Charles Hamelin celebrates winning the men’s 1500m final at the World Cup in Shanghai, China on December 12, 2015.
On the men’s side, Olympians Charles Hamelin and Charle Cournoyer both qualified for the 1000m final. Hamelin who finished first in each of the qualifying heats, continued his streak and won gold in one minute and 23.17s. Russia’s Semen Elistratov was second (1:23.61) ahead of Cournoyer who placed third (1:24.61).
