Team Canada has won five medals in a Short Track Speed Skating World Tour in Tilburg, Netherlands. The Canadians came away with four gold medals and one silver medal.
On Saturday, William Dandjinou of Sherbrooke, Quebec won the gold medal in the men’s 1500 metres with a time of 2:22.541. Jens van ‘T Wout of the Netherlands won the silver medal with a time of 2:22.659, and Pietro Sighel of Italy won the bronze medal with a time 2:22.681. Dandjinou reached the podium by 0.311 seconds. Luca Spechenhauser of Italy finished in fourth place with a time of 2:22.852.
On Saturday, Canadian Olympic gold medalist Steven Dubois of Laval, Quebec won the gold medal in the men’s 500 metres with a time of 40.313 seconds. Canadian Olympic gold medalist Jordan Pierre-Gilles of Sherbrooke won the silver medal with a time of 41.362 seconds. van ‘T Wout won the bronze medal with a time of 50.605 seconds. Dubois reached the podium by 10.813 seconds and Pierre Gilles reached the podium by 9.764 seconds over Shogo Miyata of Japan, who finished in fourth place with a time of 51.126 seconds.
On Sunday, Florence Brunelle of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec won the gold medal in the women’s 500 metres with a time of 43.141 seconds. Michelle Velzeboer of the Netherlands won the silver medal with a time of 43.257 seconds. Kristen Santos-Griswold of the United States won the bronze medal with a time of 43.500. Brunelle reached the podium by 0.386 seconds over Petra Jaszapati of Hungary, who had a fourth place time of 43.527.
Also on Sunday, Courtney Sarault of Moncton, New Brunswick won the gold medal in the women’s 1500 metres with a time of 2:27.338. Elisa Confortola of Italy won the silver medal with a time of 2:27.406. Corrine Stoddard of the United States won the bronze medal with a time of 2:27.525. Sarault reached the podium by 0.177 seconds over Santos-Griswold, who had a fourth place time of 2:27.565.
In the men’s 1500 metre World Cup standings, Dandjinou leads with 480 points. Jiwon Park of South Korea is second with 320 points. In the men’s 500 metre World Cup standings, Dubois leads with 460 points and Pierre-Gilles is in second with 268 points. In the women’s 500 metre World Cup standings, Brunelle is in third with 318 points. Santos-Griswold leads with 360 points and Xander Velzeboer of the Netherlands is in second place with 328 points. In the women’s 1500 metre World Cup standings, Sarault is in seventh place with 180 points. Stoddard leads with 360 points.
Dubois and Pierre-Gilles were part of the Canadian team that won gold in the men’s 5000 metre relay at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. The medals for Dubois, Pierre-Gilles, Brunelle, Sarault and Dandjinou will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
