Team Canada came away with three medals (one silver medal and two bronze medals) at the 2023 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday. Canadian Olympic gold medalist Steven Dubois of Laval, Quebec won the silver medal in the men’s 500 metres, Canadian Olympic silver medalist Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, Quebec won the bronze medal in the women’s 1500 metres, and Canadian Olympic gold medalist Pascal Dion of Montreal, Quebec won the bronze medal in the men’s 1500 metres.
Dubois had a second place time in the final of 41.223 seconds. Pietro Sighel of Italy won gold in the men’s 500 metres with a time of 41.166 seconds. Jens van T’Wout of the Netherlands won the bronze medal with a time of 41.243 seconds. Dubois reached the podium by .201 seconds over Denis Nikisha of Kazakhstan, who finished in fourth place with a time of 41.424 seconds.
Boutin had a third place time in the final of 2:31.575. Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands won the gold medal in the women’s 1500 metres with a time of 2:31.349. Minjeong Choi of South Korea won the silver medal with a time of 2:31.448. Boutin reached the podium by four one-thousandths of a second. Hanne Desmet of Belgium was in fourth place with a time of 2:31.579.
Dion had a third place time in the final of 2:17.986. Ji Won Park of South Korea won the gold medal in the men’s 1500 metres with a time of 2:17.792. Sighel won the silver medal with a time of 2:17.898. Dion reached the podium by a time of four one-hundredths of a second over van T’Wout, who had a fourth place time of 2:18.026 seconds.
Dubois, who won the gold medal in the men’s 5000 metre relay at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, won his second medal at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships. He won a bronze medal in Montreal in the men’s 5000 metre relay in 2022.
Boutin won the silver medal in the women’s 1000 metres at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. It was her 10th career medal at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships. Boutin has won five silver medals and five bronze medals.
Dion also won the gold medal in the men’s 5000 metre relay at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. It was his fourth career medal at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships. Dion has won two silver medals and two bronze medals. The medals for Dubois, Boutin and Dion will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
