Canada came away with two gold medals and five medals overall this past weekend at a Short Track Speed Skating World Cup in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Courtney Lee Sarault of Moncton, New Brunswick won the gold medal in the women’s 1500 metres on Saturday, while the Canadian team of William Dandjinou of Sherbrooke, Quebec, and Canadian Olympic gold medalists Pascal Dion of Montreal, Quebec, Maxime Laoun of Montreal, Quebec, and Jordan Pierre-Gilles of Sherbrooke, Quebec won the gold medal in the men’s 5000 metre relay. Dion, Laoun and Pierre-Gilles won the gold medal in the men’s 5000 metre relay at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
In the women’s 1500 metres, Sarault had a winning time of 2:33.691. Hanne Desmet of Belgium won the silver medal with a time of 2:33.799. Suk Hee Shim of South Korea won the bronze medal with a time of 2:34.462. Sarault earned a medal by 11.66 seconds. Kristen Santos-Griswold of the United States finished in fourth place with a time of 2:44.351. In the World Cup women’s 1500 metre standings, Sarault is in third with 262 points. Gilli Kim of South Korea leads with 300 points.
In the men’s 5000 metre relay, Canada won the gold medal with a time of 6:54.891. The Netherlands won the silver medal with a time of 6:54.935. Japan won the bronze medal with a time of 6:55.648. Canada earned a medal by 2.977 seconds over Hungary, which was fourth with a time of 6:57.868. In the World Cup men’s 5000 metre standings, Canada leads with 370 points. South Korea is second with 310 points.
Meanwhile, Canadian Olympic gold medalist Steven Dubois of Laval, Quebec won two silver medals on the weekend. Dubois, who was part of the Canadian team that won the gold medal in the men’s 5000 metre relay at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, won the silver medal in the men’s 500 metres on Saturday, and silver in the men’s 1000 metres on Sunday.
In the men’s 500 metres, Dubois had a time of 41.153 seconds. Diane Sellier of Poland won the gold medal with a time of 41.104 seconds. Denis Nikisha of Kazakhstan won the bronze medal with a time of 41.267 seconds. Dubois earned a medal by 0.141 seconds over Itzhak de Laat of the Netherlands, who had a fourth place time of 41.294 seconds. Dubois is in second place in the men’s 500 metre World Cup standings with 288 points. Nikisha leads with 294 points.
In the men’s 1000 metres, Dubois had a time of 1:24.775. Ji Won Park of South Korea won the gold medal with a time of 1:24.573. Roberts Kruzbergs of Latvia won the bronze medal with a time of 1:24.917. Dubois earned a medal by 0.787 seconds over Dion, who had a time of 1:25.562. In the World Cup men’s 1000 metre standings, Dion leads with 290 points with Dubois in 14th place with 80 points.
In the women’s 3000 metre relay on Sunday, the Canadian team of Canadian Olympic silver medalist Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Danae Blais of Chateauguay, Quebec, Sarault, and Renee Marie Steenge of Montreal, Quebec had a silver medal winning time of 4:13.564. South Korea won the gold medal with a time of 4:12.963. Hungary won the bronze medal with a time of 4:16.299. Canada earned a medal by 14.719 seconds over Kazakhstan, who had a fourth place time of 4:28.283. In the Women’s 3000 metre World Cup standings, Canada leads with 340 points. South Korea is in second with 306 points.
Boutin won a silver medal for Canada in the women’s 1000 metres at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. The medals for Boutin, Blais. Sarault, Steenge, Dubois, Dandjinou, Dion, Laoun, and Pierre-Gilles will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
