Canada qualifies six spots out of six for Sunday’s 1000m final rounds at the ISU Short Track World Cup in Shanghaï
Speed Skating Canada – Canadian men and women move on to the semifinal round in the relay
Shanghai, China, November 10, 2017 – Canada’s short track speed skating team qualified six spots out of a total of six for the final rounds of 1000m event, Friday, on the second day of qualification at the ISU World Cup slated to take place until Sunday in Shanghai, China, in addition to earning spots in the semifinals of both the men’s and women’s relay.
Samuel Girard from Ferland-et-Boilleau, QC, Charles Hamelin from Sainte-Julie, QC and Charle Cournoyer from Boucherville, QC, on the men’s side, as well as Kim Boutin from Sherbrooke, QC, Marianne St-Gelais from Saint-Félicien, QC, and Valérie Maltais from Saguenay, QC, on the women’s team, all qualified for the final rounds of the 1000m, scheduled to take place on Sunday.
Charle Cournoyer finished second in his qualification heat, as did Samuel Girard and Marianne St-Gelais, while the three other skaters all won their respective qualification heat.
“The 1000m is a distance where I feel relatively at ease and I was able to race like I wanted,” said Cournoyer. “I felt good and I’m ready to take on the weekend’s races.”
The Canadian men’s relay, comprised of Samuel Girard, Charles Hamelin, François Hamelin from Sainte-Julie, QC, and Charle Cournoyer won its heat in Friday’s heats round, ahead of the United States and Kazakhstan, penalized, and therefore moved on to Saturday’s semifinal round.
“It was an O.K. race for us, there were some little things that we’ll need to improve on for the semifinals,” said Charles Cournoyer. “Today, we didn’t pay the price for those small lapses because the other teams were too busy battling against one another instead of paying attention to us. So it was a relatively easy race for us. But we know what we need to improve on, it’s clear in our heads, so we’re heading in the right direction.”
In the women’s relay, Valérie Maltais, Kim Boutin, Kasandra Bradette from Saint-Félicien, QC, and Jamie Macdonald from Fort St. James, B.C, allowed Canada to come up with second place in its heat, behind the Netherlands. The Canadian women’s team therefore earned a spot in Saturday’s semifinals.
“It was a real good race, we skated ahead with the Dutch skaters and came up with a few good passes, and our exchanges were really good,” said Jamie Macdonald. “There was some bumping around at the end with a Dutch skater, but next time we’ll come up with a different skating line to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
The 500m and 1500m final rounds will take place on Saturday, and will be followed by the relays semifinals.
More details are available on Speed Skating Canada’s website at www.speedskating.ca.
1000m W
Kim Boutin: 1st in the heats and will take part in the quarterfinals Sunday
Valérie Maltais: 1st in the heats and will take part in the quarterfinals Sunday
Marianne St-Gelais: 2nd in the heats and will take part in the quarterfinals Sunday
1000m M
Charles Hamelin: 1st in the heats and will take part in the quarterfinals Sunday
Samuel Girard: 2nd in the heats and will take part in the quarterfinals Sunday
Charle Cournoyer: 2nd in the heats and will take part in the quarterfinals Sunday
Relay W
Canada: 2nd in the heats and will take part in the semifinals Saturday
(Valérie Maltais, Kim Boutin, Kasandra Bradette, Jamie Macdonald)
Relay M
Canada: 1st in the heats and will take part in the semifinals Saturday
(Samuel Girard, Charles Hamelin, François Hamelin, Charle Cournoyer)
About Speed Skating Canada
Speed Skating Canada (SSC) is the governing body for long track and short track speed skating in Canada. Founded in 1887, SSC is comprised of 13 provincial and territorial associations. Speed Skating Canada is committed to Challenge and Inspire Canada to Thrive through the power of Speed Skating. SSC recognizes and values its outstanding volunteers who give freely of their time and expertise. It also celebrates the 63 Olympic medals won by Canadian athletes since 1932, as well as the coaches, officials and other dedicated individuals who helped them on their journey. www.speedskating.ca
Speed Skating Canada would like to thank its sponsors:
Premium partner: Intact Insurance
Funding partners: Government of Canada (Sport Canada), Own The Podium, Canadian Olympic Committee
Official On-Ice High Performance Apparel: Li-Ning
Long Track Team Sponsor: KIA
Official Suppliers: Auclair, USANA
Official Technical Equipment Supplier: Nagano Skate
Sport Development Partners: Winsport Canada, Calgary’s Olympic Oval, University of Calgary, Institut national du sport du Québec, Government of Quebec, Canadian Sport Institute-Calgary, City of Montreal, Quebec City, Conseil du sport de haut niveau de Québec
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For information:
Patrick Godbout
Communications & Media Relations Manager
Speed Skating Canada
Email: pgodbout@speedskating.ca
Phone: 514 213-9897
Website: www.speedskating.ca
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