GDANSK, POLAND – Canada captured two medals during the final day of racing in Gdansk – gold in the men’s 5000m relay and for Steven Dubois in the men’s 500m – to conclude a successful ISU World Cup Short Track season, one that saw them win 35 medals across six events.
Dubois (Terrebonne, Que.) picked up his second individual medal of the competition with a decisive victory in the 500m. Dubois raced to gold with a final time of 40.303, his first 500m World Cup gold medal of the season, finishing ahead of Denis Nikisha of Kazakhstan (41.051) in second place and Michal Niewinski of Poland (41.158) in third.
Félix Roussel (Sherbrooke, Que.) finished in fifth place behind Dubois in the 500m, while Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.) was the top Canadian in the women’s 500m, finishing fifth. Maxime Laoun (Montreal, Que.) added a fifth-place result in the men’s 1000m, impressive considering he only joined the team on Thursday as a last-minute injury replacement for William Dandjinou (Montreal. Que.).
The Canadian men’s relay team of Dubois, Roussel, Jordan Pierre-Gilles (Sherbrooke, Que.) and Pascal Dion (Montreal, Que.) won the second gold medal of the day in the 5000m Relay. An exciting race in the final, Canada finished with a time of 6:55.577 and was joined on the podium by Korea (6:55.915) and Japan (6:56.000). It marked the teams third gold medal of the season, propelling them to the top of the World Cup rankings.
This final World Cup of the season in Gdansk also helped determine the final rankings in the race for the Crystal Globe, which recognizes the best overall male and female skaters of the 2023-24 season. Canada earned three top-five finishes on the men’s side, with Dubois finishing second with 1052 points, behind Ji Won Park of Korea (1071). Dandjinou earned a third-place results 784 points, while Roussel was 576 points.
With a successful World Cup season behind them, the Canadian team will be heading to the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from March 15-17. The races will be live streamed on CBC Sport and Radio-Canada Sports digital channels.
“We knew we had to win the final, so I was very aggressive throughout the race to set the pace and show that we were the strongest. Winning gold and the overall ranking just before the Worlds shows that we have what it takes to be crowned World Champions in a month’s time, and that’s our goal.” shared Félix Roussel.
Results
1000m
Danaé Blais: 12th
Claudia Gagnon: 14th
Kim Boutin: 15th
Maxime Laoun: 5th
Philippe Daudelin: 3rd
Pascal Dion: 56th
500m-2
Courtney Sarault: 5th
Renée Steenge: 11th
Rikki Doak: 20th
Steven Dubois: 1st
Félix Roussel: 5th
Jordan Pierre-Gilles: 14th
Relay
Women: 4th
Men: 1st
CONTACT
Alain Brouillette
Speed Skating Canada
communications@speedskating.ca
613-601-2630