When short track speed skating joined the Olympic program at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, there were high expectations for the Canadian Olympic team. The Canadians came away with three Olympic medals at the time (one gold and two silver), and over the last 30 years have been a regular contender in most Olympic short track speed skating events. Canada has won 33 medals historically in Olympic short track speed skating, with South Korea the only country that has won more aa they have won 48 medals.
At the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, I am projecting three medals, including two medals in the relay events. The men’s 5000 metre relay will be on February 16 at 5:44 a.m. MT, while the women’s 3000 metre relay will be on February 13 at 4:44 a.m. MT.
At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, Canada won the bronze medal in the men’s 5000 metre relay, behind Hungary and China. Heading into Beijing, the Canadians have a significant amount of momentum as World Cup champions, including victories in Japan and Hungary. In the women’s 3000 metre relay, the Canadian women won two silver medals in the last two World Cup events leading up to the Olympic Winter Games.
In the individual events, Charles Hamelin of Levis, Quebec won the gold medal in the men’s 500 metres at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, and in the men’s 1500 metres at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. In the men’s 1500 metres, Hamelin is also the reigning World Cup champion. The men’s 500 metres will be on February 13 at 5:14 a.m. MT and the men’s 1500 metres will be on February 9 at 6:20 a.m. MT. Meanwhile in the men’s 1000 metres (February 7 at 5:58 a.m. MT), Pascal Dion is the reigning World Cup champion.
In women’s short track speed skating, Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, Quebec won the silver medal in the women’s 1000 metres, and bronze medals in the women’s 500 metres and 1500 metres at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. At the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, the women’s 500 metres will be on February 7 at 5:46 a.m., the women’s 1000 metres will be on February 11 at 5:43 a.m., and the women’s 1500 metres will be on February 16 at 6:18 a.m. In the women’s 500 metres, Boutin won the World Cup short track speed skating standings in 2020, and was second in 2021 to Arianna Fontana of Italy. At the 2021 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Dordrecht, Netherlands, Courtney Lee Sarault of Fredericton, New Brunswick won the silver medal in the women’s 1500 metres and a bronze medal in the women’s 1000 metres. Sarault also finished third in the 2021 World Cup standings in the women’s 1500 metres. It is in the women’s 1500 metres, where Sarault has an excellent chance of earning an individual medal.
