Dandjinou strikes twice at Short Track World Tour in Gdansk
Canadian short track standout William Dandjinou continued his impressive season as Canadians secured four medals on Saturday at the third stop of the ISU Short Track World Tour in Gdansk, Poland.
Dandjinou was unbeatable in both the men’s 1500m and 500m finals at the Hala Olivia Arena. In the 1500m final, the Montreal skater crossed the line in 2:24.153, just ahead of Italy’s Thomas Nadalini (2:24.215) and Pietro Sighel (2:24.288).
Fellow Canadian Steven Dubois placed sixth in the eight-skater final, stopping the clock in 2:24.834.
“It feels great, it’s always hard to envision how these things are going to go, and I feel like I’ve been doing great this season,” Dandjinou said after winning the 1,500 final. “With this ice, it’s super challenging, so being able to perform with different types of conditions and ice is always good.”
Dandjinou’s speed carried over to the 500m final, where he won gold in 40.849 seconds. Dubois joined him on the podium with bronze (41.505), while China’s Xiaojun Lin secured silver (41.120).
READ: Dandjinou shines, Canada caps off dominant ISU Short Track weekend with five medals
“It’s special for sure, especially with Steven [Dubois on the podium],” Dandjinou said after winning the 500m event. “We showed great team chemistry and we always want to get three guys on the podium.
“I think Felix [Roussel] was super close and going so far was very impressive and hope we get to see him [on the podium] again next week.”
These victories bring Dandjinou’s total to five gold medals. After winning last season’s overall men’s title, he now tops the 2025-26 standings with 642 points, leading Pietro Sighel by 210 points. Dubois sits just 10 points behind Sighel in third place.
In the women’s 1000m final, Courtney Sarault skated to silver with a time of 1:30.575. Hanne Desmet of Belgium won gold in 1:30.422, while American Corrine Stoddard finished with the bronze medal in 1:30.589.
Fellow Canadian teammate Florence Brunelle finished fourth in 1:30.716.
Sarault now leads the overall standings with 570 points, ahead of Stoddard in second with 480 points.
READ: Sarault golden again, Boutin captures silver at ISU short track opener in Montreal
The fourth stop on the ISU Short Track World Tour will take place in Dordrecht, Netherlands, from November 27 to 30.
