William Dandjinou of Sherbrooke, Quebec won three gold medals this past weekend at the very first Short Track Speed Skating World Tour event in Montreal, Quebec. The event has been rebranded as it was previously a World Cup event. Dandjinou’s gold medals came in the men’s 500 metres, 1500 metres, and men’s 5000 metre relay.
In the men’s 500 metres on Saturday, it was a 1-2 Canadian finish, as Dandjinou won gold and Canadian Olympic gold medalist Stephen Dubois of Laval, Quebec won silver. Dandjinou posted a winning time of 40.701 seconds. Dubois won the silver medal with 40.797 seconds. Xiaojun Lin of China won the bronze medal with a time of 40.969 seconds.
In the men’s 1500 metres on Saturday, it was a 1-3 Canadian finish, as Dandjinou won gold and Dubois won bronze. Dandjinou has a winning time of 2:18.607. Ji Won Park of South Korea won the silver medal with a time of 2:18.616. Dubois had a time of 2:8.679. Dandjinou reached the podium by .235 seconds and Dubois reached the podium by 0.163 seconds. Sungwoo Jang of South Korea was in fourth place with a time of 2:18.842.
In the men’s 5000 metre relay, Dubois and Dandjinou teamed up with Canadian Olympic gold medalist Jordan Pierre-Gilles of Sherbrooke and Felix Roussel of Sherbrooke. Team Canada had a winning time on Sunday of 6:49.814. China won the silver medal with a time of 6:50.641. The Netherlands won the bronze medal with a time of 6:50.774. Canada reached the podium comfortably by 21.688 seconds over Italy, which had a fourth place time of 7:11.502.
In the mixed relay, Dubois and Roussel teamed up with Canadian Olympic silver medalist Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, and Florence Brunelle of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec to win bronze. The Netherlands won the gold medal with a time of 2:37.874. South Korea won the silver medal with a time of 2:38.031. Canada won the bronze medal with a time of 2:47.875. Canada reached the podium by 4.26 seconds over the United States, which had a fourth place time of 2:52.135.
Dubois and Gilles won the gold medal for Canada in the men’s 5000 metre relay at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. Boutin won the silver medal in the women’s 1000 metres at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. The medals for Dandjinou, Dubois. Gilles, Roussel, Boutin and Brunelle will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
