Canada claims four medals at Short Track World Championships
Canada won four medals at the ISU World Short Track Championships in Beijing Saturday, with William Dandjinou (1500m) and Steven Dubois (500m) claiming gold medals. Courtney Sarault helped Canada finish atop the podium in the 3000m women’s relay and also won silver in the 1000m event.
It’s been a storybook circuit for Dandjinou, who already claimed the men’s Crystal Globe, awarded to the season’s top skater, and now adds a second career World Championship title to his trophy case. The 23-year-old continued his dominance in Beijing, rallying back from some early adversity to cross the finish line with a gold-medal time of 2:15.064. Belgium’s Stijn Desmet (2:15.176) and China’s Liu Shaoang (2:15.871) finished second and third, respectively.
Dubois continued his exceptional season with a flawless performance in the 500m. The 27-year-old surged at the start of the event and never relinquished his lead, despite a hard charge from silver medallist Denis Nikisha of Kazakhstan. This was an elusive gold medal for Dubois in the 500m, as he had won silver at Capital Indoor Stadium during last year’s World Championships.
Canada’s women also put up some highlights. Sarault returned to the World Championship podium for the first time since 2023 with a silver medal in the 1000m final. Sarault had previously earned bronze in this event (2021, 2023), but her performance Saturday marked her highest finish.
After her second-place finish, Sarault teamed up with Kim Boutin, Florence Brunelle, and Rikki Doak to help the women’s relay squad win gold in the 3000m. Canada had an early lead in the race but battled back and forth with Poland before storming to the win with a time of 4:09.254.
The ISU World Short Track Championships wrap up Sunday.
