Two Victories for Kim Boutin & Steven Dubois on Third Day of Canadian Short Track Championships
Boutin and Dubois take the top spots in both the 500m (2) and 1000m (2)
Credit: Antoine Saito, Speed Skating Canada
MONTREAL, QUEBEC – The country’s top skaters returned to the ice for the third day of the 2021 Canadian Short Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance in Montreal on Wednesday, where Kim Boutin and Steven Dubois were victorious in both distances.
Boutin won her second 500m of these Canadian Short Track Championships, crossing the line in 0:43.429 to defeat Alyson Charles (0:43.681) and Florence Brunelle (0:44.275). With two wins and 20,000 points in the distance, she takes home this season’s 500m crown.
The Sherbrooke native also earned the top spot in the 1000m (2), ahead of Moncton’s Courtney Sarault (1:30.409) and Brunelle (1:30.813). She now sits first in the overall standings with 36,400 points in her top two distances.
On the men’s side, Steven Dubois reached the top podium in both distances on Wednesday.
The reigning Canadian record holder in the 500m skated a time of 0:40.952 in that distance, which put him ahead of Pascal Dion (0:41.044) and Jordan Pierre-Gilles (0:41.198), who won the first 500m of the competition last Saturday.
Dubois followed that up with another win, this time in the 1000m (2). The skater from Lachenaie, Que., clocked in at 1:26.175, besting Dion (1:26.283) and Alphonse Ouimette (1:26.849).
Veteran Charles Hamelin was officially withdrawn from the competition before action got underway on Wednesday, having suffered a concussion during last Saturday’s races. Fellow national team skater Danaé Blais, who missed the first two days of racing for medical reasons, may return to the ice this coming weekend.
Skaters will get another two days of rest before returning to the ice on Saturday for the 1000 (3) and again on Sunday for the 500m (3) and 1500m (3). The races will be live streamed on Speed Skating Canada’s YouTube channel and Facebook page starting at 10:50AM ET on both days.
In addition to crowning national champions, the results from this five day competition will help select the members of the National Team and NextGen Team for the 2021-2022 season, while also serving as a pre-selection event for the team that will represent Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
QUOTES
- “I had some great races today and I’m proud of myself. I’m very happy with my composure and how I approached my races. Finding my bearings was my goal over the last few days and I think I’m getting there. I recognized myself in my races today and I have more and more confidence in what I am doing.” – Kim Boutin
- “In the 500m, I did what I wanted to do: race from the front and increase the speed with each round and it worked well. In the 1000m, I didn’t really know what to expect. I raced opportunistically in the qualifiers and semi-final to keep my legs. Then in the final, I went with the same strategy that had worked well in the first 1000m and I managed to win.” – Steven Dubois
- “It was fun and gives me a bit of relief. I had some setbacks with two false starts in the 500m and a collision in my first 1500m, but I knew I was able to come back and do better. Today, I felt great, confident, and I’m happy with the way I raced.” – Pascal Dion
RANKINGS
Rankings are calculated based on the best 2 of 3 race results in each skater’s best 2 distances.
Men’s
- Steven Dubois 36,000
- Pascal Dion 28,389
- Nicolas Perreault 23,773
- Jordan Pierre-Gilles 23,633
- Maxime Laoun 21,150
Women’s
- Kim Boutin 36,400
- Florence Brunelle 30,496
- Alyson Charles 27,277
- Courtney Sarault 26,949
- Camille de Serres-Rainville 23,040
MEDIA CONTACT
Alain Brouillette
Speed Skating Canada
communications@speedskating.ca
613-601-2630