Short track: Canada adds three gold medals on final day of Montreal World Cup
Canadians capped off a successful weekend at the second stop of the ISU Short Track World Tour in Montreal, bringing home three gold and one bronze medal on Sunday.
After a standout performance on Saturday, William Dandjinou returned to the ice on Sunday to claim gold in the men’s 1000m, clocking in at 1:24.863. It was a double podium for Canadian speed skaters as Jordan Pierre-Gilles secured the bronze medal position with a time of 1:25.072, just behind Korea’s Jang Sungwoo, who finished in 1.25.010.
In just four days of competition this season, Dandjinou has already secured five individual medals, along with two golds in the team relay. The 23-year-old has built a comfortable 172-point lead atop the Crystal Globe standings.
Showcasing some great teamwork, Canadians continued to dominate the relay events. Dandjinou, Pierre-Gilles, Steven Dubois and Félix Roussel joined forces to win gold in the 5000m relay, with a time of 6:41.532.
Forced to implement a different strategy than the one that helped them secure the top spot last weekend, the quartet worked their way from the back of the field with nine laps remaining, before picking up the speed to create a large gap between their competitors from Korea (6:42.045) and Italy (6:42.442).
In the 2000m mixed team relay, the gold was secured by Dubois, Roussel, Kim Boutin and Florence Brunelle, with the Netherlands earning silver and Japan rounding out the podium with bronze.
It was a long-awaited first-place finish for Canada, who won gold for only the second time since the mixed relay was added to the international circuit six seasons ago.
Canada starts Montreal World Cup with a four medal day
Two Canadian speed skaters continued a hot start to the short track season, while Canada’s women’s relay team won gold on the first day at the ISU Short Track World Tour in Montreal.
William Dandjinou added two medals to his season total, including a second consecutive gold in the 1500m, while Steven Dubois claimed gold in the 500m. Meanwhile in the final event of the day, Danae Blais, Kim Boutin, Florence Brunelle and Rikki Doak teamed up to claim gold in the 3000m relay.
In the 500m, Dandjinou and Dubois switched positions from last week’s double podium. This week, it was Dubois who took home gold with a time of 41.124 seconds, while Dandjinou finished right behind him with a time of 41.183 seconds. Italy’s Pietro Sighel rounded out the podium in third.
In the 1500m, William Dandjinou won gold for the second straight week, improving on his time from last week.
The 23-year-old held a modest lead in the final lap over Latvia’s Roberts Kruzbergs, who finished in second, and Italy’s Pietro Sighel who finished third. He crossed the finish line with a time of two minutes and 17.14 seconds.
After being disqualified from last week’s 3000m relay due to a penalty, Canada responded with a statement to win gold on Saturday. Their time of four minutes and 7.84 seconds beat out Italy by three-tenths of a second, while China finished in third place.
The ISU Short Track World Tour is in Montreal for a second straight week after the tour’s opening week was relocated from Salt Lake City.
