Canada dominates short track stop with nine medal haul in Montreal
The Canadian Ice Maples had a weekend to remember at second stop of the ISU Short Track World Tour in Montréal.
After the Ice Maples captured five medals last weekend at the opening stop in Vancouver, the short track team returned with an even bigger statement; winning seven individual medals and two team medals over the two days at the Maurice Richard Arena.
After Félix Roussel and Maxime Laoun kicked off Saturday with a gold and silver double podium in the men’s 500m, the Ice Maples capped the final day with a relay gold in the men’s 5000m on Sunday.
Roussel was the brightest among many stars for Canada. He earned three medals; two of them gold, and added a 1500m silver for good measure after missing out on the 1500m podium by two spots in Vancouver.
In the men’s 1000m, Mathieu Pelletier captured the first individual distance medal of his World Tour career with a silver.
On the women’s side, reigning ISU Crystal Globe Winner Courtney Sarault also took home three medals. She raced to silver in the 1000m on Saturday, and won her second individual medal with a bronze in the 500m on Sunday.
She was also apart of the mixed relay team which raced to an exciting silver. Danaé Blais, Maxime Laoun, Courtney Sarault, and Felix Roussel teamed up to finish with a time of 2 minutes and 37.37 seconds, finishing just a few seconds behind the Netherlands.
It was the second time Blais and Sarault shared the podium; the pair were #2 and #3 respectively in the women’s 500m.
Finally on Sunday, the Ice Maples saved one of their best performances for last as Steven Dubois, Mathieu Pelletier, Félix Roussel, and Maxime Laoun raced to a 6:59.33 to win the men’s 5000m really gold. They came in two seconds ahead of the Chinese relay team.
All in all, six Team Canada athletes combined to win nine medals across two days; two golds, six silvers, and one bronze. Five of the six reached the podium on multiple occasions.
