Speed Skating Canada – Kasandra Bradette set to make her return to international competition

 

Kasandra Bradette (#4) during the 2018 Olympic short track team selections in Montreal last year. (Photo par Patrice Lapointe)

 

MONTREAL, QUEBEC – Canada has named its team for the final two ISU World Cup Short Track events of the season, which will take place from February 1-3 in Dresden, Germany and from February 8-10 in Torino, Italy. The skaters will look to add to the twelve medals – three gold, three silver and six bronze – and ten top-5 finishes that Canada has earned on the World Cup circuit so far this season.

 

The women’s team for these upcoming events includes Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke, Que.), Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.), Alyson Charles (Montréal, Que.), Claudia Gagnon (Saguenay, Que.), Camille de Serres-Rainville (Montreal, Que.) and Kasandra Bradette (St. Félicien, Que.). The men’s team is comprised of Samuel Girard (Ferland-et-Boilleau, Que.), Steven Dubois (Lachenaie, Que.), Charle Cournoyer (Boucherville, Que.), Pascal Dion (Montréal, Que.), Cédrik Blais (Châteauguay, Que.) and Charles Hamelin (Sainte-Julie, Que.).

 

Leading the way for the ladies is the triple Olympic medalist Boutin, who won a pair of medals in her only World Cup of the season in Almaty, brining home silver in the 1000m and bronze in the 1500m.

 

She will be joined by fellow medal winners this season Charles and Sarault, a pair of World Cup rookies that have proven that they have what it takes to compete with the best skaters in the world. Charles won gold in the 1000m in Salt Lake, along with two 500m bronze medals in Calgary, while Sarault, who will also compete at the 2019 ISU World Junior Short Track Championships in Montreal later this month, won 1500m silver in Calgary.

 

Bradette, 30, will make her season debut on the international stage, returning to competition after suffering a concussion in the fall that kept her out of World Cup action until now. A member of the Olympic team last year in PyeongChang, she has won 15 World Cup medals since joining the senior national team in 2011.

 

Rounding out the ladies’ team are de Serres-Rainville and Gagnon, who have season best results of fifth in the 1500m and sixth in the 500m, respectively.

 

On the men’s side, Girard and Dubois will look to build upon the early season success that helped them both reach the podium. Girard won gold in the 500m in Almaty, while Dubois brought home bronze from the 1500m in Salt Lake City. He also set a new Canadian record in the 500m (39.845) at the season opener in Calgary.

 

They will be joined by veterans Hamelin, Dion and Cournoyer, along with second-year skater Blais.

 

Hamelin seems to be regaining his form after a disappointing first event on the season in Calgary. He bounced back with a fifth-place finish in the 500m in Salt Lake City and has also earned a pair of top 10 results in the 1500m.

 

Dion has been one of the team’s most consistent performers this season, having earned four top 10 results including two fifth and one sixth-place finish in the 1500m, along with a sixth-place in the 1000m.

 

Meanwhile, Cournoyer finished just off the podium in fourth place in the 500m in Salt Lake City and also has an eighth-place result in the 1000m, while Blais, who has been a staple on the mixed gender relay team, has a tenth-place finish in the 1000m and a pair of 11^th place results in the 500m.

 

 

Please see below the full list of athletes, in alphabetical order by last name, selected for the next two World Cups. A biography of each athlete can be found at www.speedskating.ca/teams/short-track. 

 

Ladies Team

• BOUTIN, Kim (Sherbrooke, QC)
• BRADETTE, Kasandra (St. Félicien, QC)
• CHARLES, Alyson (Montréal, QC)
• DE SERRES-RAINVILLE, Camille (Montreal, QC)
• GAGNON, Claudia (Saguenay, QC)
• SARAULT, Courtney (Moncton, NB)

 

Men’s Team

• BLAIS, Cédrik (Châteauguay, QC)
• COURNOYER, Charle (Boucherville, QC)
• DION, Pascal (Montréal, QC)
• DUBOIS, Steven (Lachenaie, QC)
• GIRARD, Samuel (Ferland-et-Boilleau, QC)
• HAMELIN, Charles (Sainte-Julie, QC)

                                        

 

Media

Nicole Espenant
Speed Skating Canada
Email: communications@speedskating.ca 
Phone: 613-797-1630