MONTREAL, QUEBEC – The opening weekend of the 2025 Canadian Short Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance came to an exciting end on Sunday in Montreal, highlighted by a double gold medal performance by Courtney Sarault and an epic battle between William Dandjinou and Félix Roussel.
Sarault (Moncton, N.B.) captured a pair of gold medals for the second consecutive day, finishing atop the podium in both the women’s 1000m-1 and 1500m-2.
The first running of the 1000m distance saw Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke, Que.) and Florence Brunelle (Trois Rivières, Que.) jostling for position throughout the first half of the race, before Sarault accelerated and made an outside pass in the straight on Brunelle, before cutting inside at the exit of a corner to overtake Boutin and grab the lead. Her time of 1:28.189 gave her a slim lead over Boutin (1:28,271) and Brunelle (1:28,614).
Sarault followed her 1000m performance up with her second victory of the day in the 1500m-2. The 25-year old finished the longest short track distance in 2:28,732, getting the better of Boutin (2:28,818) and Sherbrooke’s Ann-Sophie Bachand (2:28,929), in what was an identical podium to Saturday’s 500m-1.
“I was confident coming into today, but there were a lot of things on my mind. I kept telling myself that I’ve skated in far worse conditions during the two years when I wasn’t doing to good and just did positive self-talk all day, telling myself that I could do it and that I was capable. In the last race, let me tell you, my legs felt like they were about to break off, but when those negative thoughts came in, I just tried to tell myself all the things that could go right, because worrying and doubting yourself before a race never helps. I told myself that if I got the gold in the 1500m it would prove that I was pretty strong, and that’s what I did,” shared Courtney Sarault.
It was a three-way battle between Dandjinou (Montreal, Que.), Roussel (Sherbrooke, Que.) and Maxime Laoun (Montreal, Que.) in the men’s 1000m final. The trio exchanged positions in front of the pack for the first five laps, before Dandjinou moved to the front for good, crossing the finish line in 1:23,854 ahead of Roussel (1:23,947) and Laoun (1:24,120), who reached the podium for the first time this weekend.
The 24-year-old Roussel got the better of Dandjinou a few hours later in the 1500m-2 final, posting a time of 2:12,080 to capture his first gold medal of the competition. Dandjinou settled for second (2:12,411), while youngster Gabriel Jones (Deux-Montagnes, Que.) was elevated into bronze medal position (2:12,987) after Laoun, who crossed the line in third place, was penalized.
“I am pretty happy with these first two days of the competition. I wanted to start strong and set the tone, so to win three silver medals and one gold medal feel good. I’m going to keep working on some stuff but feel that I can not stop worrying a bit about trying to earn my spot, because I feel I’m in a good position and I’ve got the legs. The little rivalry going on between myself and William is also helping me grow as a competitor. We’re going to keep fighting for that national title and gain some more experience.”Félix Roussel
The 2025 Canadian Short Track Championships continues this coming Wednesday with the 500m-2 and 1000m-2. Races will be live streamed beginning at 4:00pm ET on Speed Skating Canada’s YouTube channels, as well as on CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sports digital platforms.
Overall Rankings
Women
- Courtney Sarault = 20,000 points
- Kim Boutin = 15,2000 points
- Florence Brunelle = 11,399 points
- Ann-Sophie Bachand = 10,287 points
- Claudia Gagnon = 8,643 points
Men
- William Dandjinou = 19,000 points
- Félix Roussel = 17,000 points
- Mathieu Pelletier = 9,959 points
- Philippe Daudelin = 8,526 points
- Maxime Laoun = 7,140 points
CONTACT
Alain Brouillette
Speed Skating Canada
communications@speedskating.ca
613-601-2630