Sarault and Dandjinou lead Canada’s short track Crystal Globe sweep
Canada capped the 2025 ISU Short Track World Tour circuit on a high note, sweeping the 2025 Crystal Globe titles at the final stop in Dordrecht, Netherlands.
William Dandjinou secured his second consecutive overall crown on Saturday with a 1500m gold and 500m silver. Courtney Sarault captured her first overall title on Sunday, highlighting a remarkable comeback season. Canada also earned the team crown, repeating as champions for the second consecutive season.
Over the weekend, Canada’s short track team claimed a total of seven medals, three gold, three silver, and one bronze.
Sarault entered the final day of competition just 100 points ahead of American Corinne Stoddard with two individual races remaining. The 25-year-old finished with silver in the 1500m final.
During the race, Belgium’s Hanne Desmet caused a crash that took out Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer and Stoddard. Sarault crossed the line safely in 2:26.443, securing her first Crystal Globe and completing a comeback season that began after she missed the start of last year due to physical and mental injury.
Sarault solidified her top position by adding a gold medal in the 500m, stopping the clock at 42.695 seconds. Florence Brunelle completed the Canadian double podium with bronze in 43.031. Stoddard claimed silver and a career-best finish as World No. 2.
“This is unreal! I came into today hoping to make every A Final and definitely wanted to put up a fight in both my races. I fell short of the gold in the 1500m, felt that I made a few technical errors. In the 500m, I knew it was my last race so I wanted to give it everything I had and leave it all on the ice. I found myself beside Xandra off the start and I just carried my speed on the outside and took it from there, and it worked out pretty great for me. It’s always fun going up against her. I knew I had a good lane and I wanted to see if I could challenge her. I’m just really happy with how I finished this World Tour”
On the men’s side, Steven Dubois finished fifth in the 1000m final.
Dandjinou claims second straight short track Crystal Globe
William Dandjinou’s reign as the world’s best male short track skater added another chapter on Saturday. The 24-year-old clinched his second straight Crystal Globe after claiming a gold medal in the men’s 1500m.
Dandjinou raced behind Dutch skater Jens Van ’t Wout – who held the top spot for the majority of the race – before making his move to the front in the 11th lap, and silencing hometown fans in the Netherlands. Countrymate Felix Roussel also made his move into a podium position late, eventually securing a silver to make it a double podium for the Ice Maples.
For Dandjinou, it’s his third consecutive gold medal in the men’s 1500m this season after claiming the top podium spot in Montreal and Gdansk.
The Sherbrooke native also claimed silver in the 500m, racing to a time of 42.236 seconds.
Dandjinou finishes with 832 points on the season, nearly 250 points ahead of Italy’s Pietro Sighel who finished second in the short track standings.
On the women’s side, Courtney Sarault continued her stellar campaign with a gold in the women’s 1000m. Her time of one minute, 27.7 seconds edged out U.S. skater Corinne Stoddard by 0.05 seconds. Hanne Desmet of Belgium finished in third.
