Team Canada PyeongChang 2018 Hamelin Girard 1500m

Speed Skating – Short Track

Team Canada Medal Count

Gold medal icon 10
Silver medal icon 13
Bronze medal icon 14

Sport Overview

Short Track Speed Skating at Beijing 2022

Venue: Capital Indoor Stadium

Competition Dates: February 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16 (Days 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12)

Events: 9 (4 men, 4 women, 1 mixed)

Trivia: Test your knowledge!

Short track speed skating takes place on a 111.12m oval which is marked on an international-sized ice rink. The smaller oval means there are tighter turns and shorter straightaways than in long track. There are nine events on the Olympic program.

Team Canada Kim Boutin skating at PyeongChang 2018

In the 500m (4 ½ laps) and the 1000m (9 laps) there are four rounds of competition (heats, quarterfinals, semi-finals, finals) in which there are usually four skaters racing at a time.

With 13 and a half laps, the 1500m is the most strategic of the individual events. There are three rounds of competition (heats, semi-finals, finals) in which there are usually six skaters racing at a time.

In the men’s 5000m relay (45 laps) and women’s 3000m relay (27 laps), teams compete with four skaters each and there are four teams on the ice at a time. Instead of a baton, the exchange between teammates is made by pushing the next skater to maintain momentum and movement. Skaters will race one to two laps before making an exchange. In the event of a fall, a covering skater may tag the fallen skater and continue the race.

One short track speed skater pushed another in a relay

New to the Olympic program at Beijing 2022 will be a mixed team relay, which has a total distance of 2000m (18 laps). Each team includes two women and two men, who race in that order (woman-woman-man-man). Each skater covers two and a half laps before pushing the next member of their team into the race. Each skater races twice. If an athlete falls, only an athlete of the same gender can tag in to continue the race.

Canadian History (Pre-Beijing 2022)

Short track speed skating has only been on the Olympic program since Albertville 1992, but it is already Canada’s second-most successful winter sport with 33 medals won.

Two speed skaters celebrate with arms up

Canada’s best Games were at Salt Lake City 2002, where six medals were won. Marc Gagnon contributed three of those, highlighted by his gold medal in the 500m as he shared the podium with silver medal-winning teammate Jonathan Guilmette. The duo also won gold as members of the 5000m relay. Gagnon added a bronze medal in the 1500m. He ended his career as one of Canada’s most decorated Olympians with five medals, having previously won 1000m bronze at Lillehammer 1994 and relay gold at Nagano 1998.

Also on the most decorated list is François-Louis Tremblay, who won the first of his five Olympic medals as a member of the relay in Salt Lake City. He won relay medals at the next two Games, where he also stood on the podium in the 500m, winning silver at Turin 2006 and bronze at Vancouver 2010.

Short track speed skaters carry Canadian flag

At Sochi 2014, Charles Hamelin won his third career Olympic gold medal when he finished first in the 1500m. Four years earlier he’d won gold in the 500m and as a member of the 5000m relay. He added a fifth career medal at PyeongChang 2018, winning bronze with the 5000m relay.

Canada’s short track star in PyeongChang was Kim Boutin, who was the country’s only triple medallist of the Games as she reached in the podium in all of the women’s individual events. She was selected as Canada’s Closing Ceremony flag bearer. Canada’s only short track gold in PyeongChang was won in the men’s 1000m by Samuel Girard.

Short track medallists on the podium

Until 2018, Canada had never missed the podium in the women’s 3000m relay, starting with a gold medal at Albertville 1992. Four silver and two bronze have been won since then. Tania Vicent was a member of four of those teams, making her Canada’s most decorated female short tracker. The only Canadian woman to win individual gold was Annie Perreault in the 500m at Nagano 1998.

At Sochi 2014, Marianne St-Gelais won silver with the 3000m relay for her third career medal, adding to the relay silver and 500m silver she won at Vancouver 2010.

Canadian Medallists

Event Athlete Finish Games
Women's 3000m RelayAngela Cutrone, Sylvie Daigle, Nathalie Lambert, Annie PerreaultGoldAlbertville 1992
Men's 5000m RelayÉric Bédard, Derrick Campbell, François Drolet, Marc GagnonGoldNagano 1998
Women's 500mAnnie PerreaultGoldNagano 1998
Men's 500mMarc GagnonGoldSalt Lake City 2002
Men's 5000m RelayÉric Bédard, Marc Gagnon, Jonathan Guilmette, François-Louis Tremblay, Mathieu TurcotteGoldSalt Lake City 2002
Men's 500mCharles HamelinGoldVancouver 2010
Men's 5000m RelayCharles Hamelin, Guillaume Bastille, François Hamelin, Olivier Jean, François-Louis TremblayGoldVancouver 2010
Men's 1500mCharles HamelinGoldSochi 2014
Men's 1000mSamuel GirardGoldPyeongChang 2018
Men's 5000m Relay Charles Hamelin, Pascal Dion, Steven Dubois, Jordan Pierre-Gilles, Maxime LaounGoldBeijing 2022
Men's 1000mFrédéric BlackburnSilverAlbertville 1992
Men's 5000m RelayFrédéric Blackburn, Laurent Daignault, Michel Daignault, Sylvain Gagnon, Mark LackieSilverAlbertville 1992
Women's 3000m RelayChristine Boudrias, Isabelle Charest, Sylvie Daigle, Nathalie LambertSilverLillehammer 1994
Women's 1000mNathalie LambertSilverLillehammer 1994
Men's 500mJonathan GuilmetteSilverSalt Lake City 2002
Men's 5000m RelayÉric Bédard, Jonathan Guilmette, Charles Hamelin, François-Louis Tremblay, Mathieu TurcotteSilverTurin 2006
Women's 3000m RelayAlanna Kraus, Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, Amanda Overland, Kalyna Roberge, Tania VicentSilverTurin 2006
Men's 500mFrançois-Louis TremblaySilverTurin 2006
Women's 3000m RelayJessica Gregg, Kalyna Roberge, Marianne St-Gelais, Tania VicentSilverVancouver 2010
Women's 500mMarianne St-GelaisSilverVancouver 2010
Women's 3000m RelayMarie-Ève Drolet, Jessica Hewitt, Valérie Maltais, Marianne St-GelaisSilverSochi 2014
Women's 1000mKim BoutinSilverPyeongChang 2018
Men's 1500m Steven DuboisSilverBeijing 2022
Men's 1000mMarc GagnonBronzeLillehammer 1994
Men's 1000mÉric BédardBronzeNagano 1998
Women's 3000m RelayChristine Boudrias, Isabelle Charest, Annie Perreault, Tania VicentBronzeNagano 1998
Women's 3000m RelayIsabelle Charest, Marie-Ève Drolet, Amélie Goulet-Nadon, Alanna Kraus, Tania VicentBronzeSalt Lake City 2002
Men's 1500mMarc GagnonBronzeSalt Lake City 2002
Men's 1000mMathieu TurcotteBronzeSalt Lake City 2002
Women's 500mAnouk Leblanc-BoucherBronzeTurin 2006
Men's 500mFrançois-Louis TremblayBronzeVancouver 2010
Men's 500mCharle CournoyerBronzeSochi 2014
Women's 500mKim BoutinBronzePyeongChang 2018
Women's 1500mKim BoutinBronzePyeongChang 2018
5000m relayCharles Hamelin, Samuel Girard, Charle Cournoyer, Pascal DionBronze PyeongChang 2018
Women's 500m Kim BoutinBronzeBeijing 2022
Men's 500m Steven DuboisBronzeBeijing 2022

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