MONTREAL, QUEBEC – The Canadian Ice Maples reached the top step of the podium four times on Saturday at the second ISU Short Track World Tour event of the season in Montreal, finishing the day with five total medals.
William Dandjnou (Montreal, Que.) got things started with his second win of the season in the men’s 500m. Dutch rival Jens Van’T Wout was removed from the race following a false start, which brought the field down to four skaters. Dandjinou grabbed the lead at the restart and never looked back, crossing the finish line in 41.126, ahead of China’s Lui Shaoang (41.225) and Sun Long (52.606).
The 24-year-old reigning Crystal Globe winner reached the top of the podium again a short time later, earning gold in the men’s 1500m (2:13.217). Fellow Canadian Félix Roussel (Sherbrooke, Que.) crossed the line in second place but was penalized after his inside pass knocked two other competitors out of contention, a dangerous maneuver that earned him a Yellow Card. Teammate Steven Dubois (Lachenaie, Que.) was the beneficiary of Roussel’s disqualification, getting bumped into bronze medal position (2:13.575), behind Dandjinou and Japan’s Miyata Shogo (2:13.406), who was elevated to second place.
“I’m super proud of our crowd and the ambiance they created today in Montreal. We could not have asked for a better day! The beauty of short track is that there are good days and bad days. Last weekend, I had a few hard days, so to be able to bounce back proves that you can always overcome those difficult moments. You just need to concentrate on the objectives and make the adjustments necessary to win,” said William Dandjinou.
Also repeating as a distance winner on Saturday was Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.), who claimed her second consecutive 1000m title. The 25-year-old controlled the pace from the third lap onwards, finishing the distance in 1:27.896. She was joined on the podium by Korea’s Choi Minjeong (1:28.165) and Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands (1:28.235).
“I was feeling a little bit fatigued from last weekend, but I was trying not to think too much about it. I knew if I took it race by race, I could have some good results. I was a little bit nervous today, but I’m happy I was able to race well and pull it off. I’m happy with my performance. I was in front a little earlier than I wanted to be, but I just gave it my all and worked on managing the race from that position, and it worked out really well,” said Courtney Sarault.
Racing concluded with Canada’s fourth gold medal of the day, as Sarault, Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke, Que), Danaé Blais (Châteauguay, Que.) and Florence Brunelle (Trois-Rivières, Que.) defeated the Koreans (4:07.517) and Japanese (4:10.081) to win the women’s 3000m relay (4:07.341). Sarault forced her way to the front after the final exchange, bringing a healthy hometown crowd to its feet and earning a bit of redemption following a disappointing bronze medal last weekend.
The ISU Short Track World Tour concludes tomorrow with the women’s 500m and 1500m, as well as the men’s 1000m and 5000m relay. Racing will be live streamed on CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sport digital channels. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.courtepiste.ca.
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