For the second straight weekend there was a Short Track World Tour event in Montreal, Quebec. This past weekend the event was moved to Montreal because of an equipment issue in Salt Lake City. It was an outstanding weekend for the Canadians as they came away with eight medals (six gold, one silver and one bronze). They now have won 14 medals over the first two World Cup stops this season.
The Canadians won all four of the men’s events. In the men’s 500 metres on Saturday, it was a 1-2 Canadian finish. Canadian Olympic gold medalist Steven Dubois of Laval, Quebec won the gold medal with a time of 41.124 seconds. William Dandjinou of Sherbrooke, Quebec won the silver medal with a time of 41.183 seconds. Pietro Sighel of Italy won the bronze medal with a time of 41.354 seconds. Dubois reached the podium by .507 seconds and Dandjinou reached the podium by .448 seconds. Shogo Miyata of Japan was in fourth place with a time of 41.631 seconds. In the World Cup standings after two events, Dubois and Dandjinou both lead with 180 points.
In the men’s 1000 metres on Sunday, Canadians had a 1-3 finish. Dandjinou won the gold medal with a time of 1:24.863. Canadian Olympic gold medalist Jordan Pierre-Gilles of Sherbrooke won the bronze medal with a time of 1:25.072. Sungwoo Jang of South Korea won the silver medal with a time of 1:25.010. Dandjionou reached the podium by 0.463 seconds and Pierre-Gilles reached the podium by 0.254 seconds. Long Sun of China was in fourth place with a time of 1:25.326. Jens van ‘T Wout of the Netherlands is the World Cup men’s 1000 metre leader with 136 points. Dandjinou is in third place with 120 points and Pierre-Gilles is in fourth place with 98 points.
In the men’s 1500 metres on Saturday, Dandjinou won the gold medal with a time of 2:17.138. Roberts Kruzbergs of Latvia won the silver medal with a time of 2:17.246. Sighel won the bronze medal with a time of 2:17.364. Dandjinou reached the podium by 0.515 seconds over Ji Won Park of South Korea, who was in fourth place with a time of 2:17.653. Dandjinou leads the World Cup standings in the men’s 1500 metres with 200 points. He has 60 more points than Park, who is second with 140 points.
In the men’s 5000 metre relay on Saturday, the Canadian team comprised of Dandjinou. Pierre-Gilles, Dubois and Felix Roussel of Sherbrooke posted a winning time of 6:41.532. South Korea won the silver medal with a time of 6:42.045. Italy won the bronze medal with a time of 6:42.442. Canada easily reached the podium by 7.591 seconds over the Netherlands, who had a fourth place time of 6:49.123. Canada leads the World Cup standings in the men’s 5000 metre relay with 200 points. South Korea, Italy and the Netherlands are tied for second place with 130 points.
In the women’s 3000 metre relay on Saturday, the Canadian team of Danae Blais of Chateauguay, Quebec, Canadian Olympic silver medalist Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, Florence Brunelle of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, and Rikki Doak of Fredericton, New Brunswick posted a winning time of 4:07.841. Italy won the silver medal with a time of 4:08.112. China won the bronze medal with a time of 4:09.376. Italy leads the World Cup standings with 180 points. Canada is second with 160 points.
In the mixed 2000 metre relay on Sunday, Boutin, Brunelle, Dubois and Roussel won the gold medal with a time of 2:37.684. The Netherlands won the silver medal with a time of 2:37.960, and Japan won the bronze medal with a time of 2:40.162. In the mixed 2000 metre relay standings, Canada is in second place with 170 points. The Netherlands lead with 180 points.
Boutin won Olympic silver in the women’s 1000 metres at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. Dubois and Pierre-Gilles won Olympic gold in the men’s 5000 metre relay at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The World Tour medals won by Boutin, Pierre-Gilles, Dubois, Blais, Brunelle, Doak, Dandjinou, and Roussel will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
