Marianne St-Gelais wins bronze in 500m at ISU World Cup Short Track stage in China
Speed Skating Canada – Shanghaï, China, December 10, 2016 – Marianne St-Gelais was the only Canadian skater to win a medal, Saturday, at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating stage that will be held until Sunday in Shanghai, China, as she earned bronze in the first of two 500m events slated for the weekend.
Placed in the fourth spot on the starting line and after skating in second place for almost the entire race in the A final of the women’s 500m (1) event, Marianne St-Gelais of Saint-Félicien, QC, saw South Korea’s Min Jeong Choi overtake her just at the finish line and go on to win the silver medal. Great Britain’s Elise Christie won gold.
“I started from the fourth spot in the final and I knew I was in for a lot of action. So I was ready for anything,” said St-Gelais about a race was marked by a false start, but also a restart after a skater fell early on.
“At the same time, I wanted to risk doing certain things that I don’t normally do. There was a lot of contact at the start of the race. I managed to get into second place and I ended up overtaking a skater way too early, and it cost me my position. I’m a little bit disappointed about finishing third, but I did certain things differently, so it bodes well for upcoming races.”
This was Marianne St-Gelais’ third medal in the 500m distance in three World Cup stages this season. She won gold in that event in Salt Lake City and silver in Calgary. She has a total of four medals overall this season, having also collected silver in the 1500m held in the United States.
Aside from that podium result, it was a disappointing day for Canada. Patrick Duffy of Oakville, ON, having been eliminated in the semifinal repechage heat in the men’s 500m (1), 11 Canadian skaters ended up qualifying for the final rounds of Saturday’s races. However, among them, only St-Gelais was able to reach the A final of her event.
In the women’s 500m (1), Kasandra Bradette of Saint-Félicien, QC, was second in the B final, while Valérie Maltais of Saguenay, La Baie borough, QC, fell hard into the safety mats following a contact with a Chinese skater in the quarterfinals.
“I skated well. Unfortunately, there was sort of a bizarre contact with the Chinese skater. I was skating straight ahead and she came back right on me. That was it for me,” said Maltais.
In the men’s 500m (1), Samuel Girard of Ferland-et-Boilleau, QC, and Charles Hamelin of Sainte-Julie, QC, were eliminated at the quarterfinal stage. Hamelin won his heat, but he was disqualified because he forgot to put on his transponder.
“That was my best 500m so far this season and I was really happy about it. Unfortunately, I was unable to continue the competition and it’s really disappointing,” said Charles Hamelin.
In the 1500m, several Canadian skaters reached the B final.
Charle Cournoyer of Boucherville, QC, earned the best result, as he won the men’s B final. Pascal Dion of Montreal, Rivière-des-Prairies – Pointe-aux-Trembles borough, QC, was fourth. In the women’s B final, Marie-Ève Drolet of Saguenay, Chicoutimi borough, QC, was third while Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, QC, was fifth.
In the women’s relay semifinals, Canada qualified for Sunday’s A final as Kim Boutin, Marie-Ève Drolet, Marianne St-Gelais and Kasandra Bradette took second place in their heat, behind the Netherlands.
The repechage heats and final rounds of the weekend’s second 500m and the 1000m event, as well as the relay finals are slated for Sunday.
TODAY’S CANADIAN RESULTS
500m (1) W
Marianne St-Gelais: bronze medal (final ranking: 3)
Kasandra Bradette: 2nd in the B final (final ranking: 6)
Valérie Maltais: felt, did not finish the race in the quarterfinals and eliminated (final ranking: 20)
500m (1) M
Samuel Girard: 3rd in the quarterfinals and eliminated (final ranking: 10)
Charles Hamelin: penality in the quarterfinals and eliminated (final ranking: 20)
Patrick Duffy: 3rd in the repechage semifinals and eliminated (final ranking: 24)
1500m W
Marie-Ève Drolet: 3rd in the B Final (final ranking: 10)
Kim Boutin: 5th in the B Final (final ranking: 12)
Jamie Macdonald: 7th in the semifinals and eliminated (final ranking: 19)
1500m M
Charle Cournoyer: 1st in the B Final (final ranking: 8)
Pascal Dion: 4th in the B Final (final ranking: 11)
François Hamelin: 8th in the semifinals and eliminated (final ranking: 21)
Relay W
Canada: 2nd in the semifinals and will take part in the A Final Sunday
(Kim Boutin, Marie-Ève Drolet, Marianne St-Gelais, Kasandra Bradette)
More information is available at Speed Skating Canada’s website: www.speedskating.ca.
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