First full short track season in three years starts with official test event for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games
BEIJING, CHINA – After months of anticipation, the international short track community is once again together for the first full season of the sport in three years, after both 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The teams are currently in Asia for the first two ISU World Cup competitions of the 2021-2022 season, which will take place in Beijing, China (October 21-24) and Nagoya, Japan (October 28-31). This weekend’s competition at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing will serve as the official test event for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Canada will look to secure the maximum number of individual distance quota spots and qualify all three relay teams for Beijing 2022 with their performances at the four fall World Cups, which also includes events in Debrecen, Hungary (November 18-21) and Dordrecht, Netherlands (November 25-28).
In addition to earning quota spots for their country, Canadian skaters will battle it out amongst themselves for the chance to be nominated for the Olympic Team. Nominations will be made in accordance with the criteria established in the 2022 Short Track Olympic Selection Policies and Procedures, which takes into account a skater’s performances on the World Cup circuit.
Team
The full list of athletes who will compete at the ISU World Cup Short Track events in Beijing and Nagoya can be found below, along with the distances they have been provisionally assigned to participate in.
Women’s Team
- Kim Boutin (500m, 1000m, 1500m, Relay)
- Courtney Sarault (1000m, 1500m, Relay)
- Florence Brunelle (500m, 1000m, Relay)
- Alyson Charles (500m, Relay)
- Camille De Serres-Rainville (1500m, Relay)
- Danaé Blais (Relay)
Men’s Team
- Steven Dubois (500m, 1000m, 1500m, Relay)
- Pascal Dion (1000m, 1500m, Relay)
- Charles Hamelin (1000m, 1500m, Relay)
- Jordan Pierre Gilles (500m, Relay)
- Maxime Laoun (500m, Relay)
- William Dandjinou (Relay)
Storylines
A few storylines to keep an eye on early this season include:
- Kim Boutin: After taking a step back from training and skipping last season’s World Championships, the 500m world record holder will take part in her first international event since the 2019-2020 World Cup in Dresden.
- Charles Hamelin: The 36-year old veteran enters his 19th international season as the reining 1500m world champion and returns to competition after being forced out of this summer’s Canadian Championships due to a concussion.
- Courtney Sarault: After making history with her vice world champion title last season, the New Brunswick native and Canada’s reigning Female Short Track Athlete of the Year will look to retain her spot alongside the world’s very best.
- Florence Brunelle: The 17-year old phenom will make her debut on the World Cup circuit after earning top-10 results in both the 500m (9th) and 1500m (10th) at last season’s World Championships.
- Steven Dubois: Canada’s most decorated male skater over the past three seasons will look to build off his impressive performance at the Canadian Championships, where he reached the podium in 8 of 9 distances.
- Relay Teams: The men’s and women’s relay teams will look to bounce back after disappointing results at last year’s World Championships, where they finished fifth and eighth, respectively. Canada will also look to qualify a team for the 2000m Mixed Gender Relay event, which will make its Olympic debut at Beijing 2022.
Schedule and Results
The up-to-date competition schedule and live results can be accessed on the ISU Portal.
World Cup Beijing
- Thursday, October 21 (Qualifications for 500m, 1500m, Mixed Relay)
- Friday, October 22 (Qualifications for 1000m, Men’s Relay, Women’s Relay)
- Saturday, October 23 (Finals for 500m, 1500m; Semifinals for Men’s Relay, Women’s Relay)
- Sunday, October 24 (Finals for 1000m, Men’s Relay, Women’s Relay, Mixed Relay)
World Cup Nagoya
- Thursday, October 28 (Qualifications for 500m, 1500m, Mixed Relay)
- Friday, October 29 (Qualifications for 1000m, Men’s Relay, Women’s Relay)
- Saturday, October 30 (Finals for 500m, 1500m; Semifinals for Men’s Relay, Women’s Relay)
- Sunday, October 31 (Finals for 1000m, Men’s Relay, Women’s Relay, Mixed Relay)
Where to Watch
Canadian speed skating fans can watch the races live on CBC Sports web and digital platforms on both weekends, while Thursday and Friday’s qualifying races can be watched on the ISU YouTube channel. The CBC Sports streaming schedule can be found below:
World Cup Beijing
- Saturday, October 23 from 2:00am to 6:30am ET
- Sunday, October 24 from 2:00am to 6:00am ET
World Cup Nagoya
- Saturday, October 30 from 1:00am to 5:30am ET
- Sunday, October 31 from 1:00am to 5:00am ET
MEDIA CONTACT
Alain Brouillette
Speed Skating Canada
communications@speedskating.ca
613-601-2630
RESOURCES
Information (Beijing)
Information (Nagoya)
Results (Beijing)
Results (Nagoya)
Schedule
Live Streaming