MONTREAL, QUEBEC – It was another successful day at the Maurice Richard Arena for Canada’s short track speed skating team, as they captured a medal of each colour to conclude the first ISU Short Track World Tour stop of the season in Montreal on Sunday.
Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.) led the way by winning her second gold medal in as many days, earning the top spot in a stacked 1500m women’s final. The 25-year-old jostled for position for much of the race, before making a double inside pass with six laps remaining to grab the lead. As the speed picked up, a defensive track pattern helped the Canadian hold off hard-charging Korean Kim Gilli (2:22.217) and American Corinne Stoddard (2:22.256) to bring home the gold in 2:22.156.
“I was going into the 1500m thinking I could maybe win the race, but I wasn’t sure how my legs would be compared to everyone else’s. This is my first time doing this World Tour format, with the 500m and the 1500m on the same day, so I am proud of myself for finishing those races the way I did. Making an A Final in the 500m was nice for me and I’m going to build off that. And I felt I raced well in my 1500m win, I was in front and strong. I’m happy that all my hard work and training is paying off. It’s nice when you train for something and get results,” shared Courtney Sarault.
The double gold medalist added bronze to her medal haul earlier in the afternoon, joining forces with Danaé Blais (Châteauguay, Que.), Steven Dubois (Lachenaie, Que.) and Félix Roussel (Sherbrooke, Que.) to reach the podium in the 2000m mixed team relay. The Canadians bounced between first and second position until the thirteenth lap, when a fall from Blais during a pass attempt looked to put them out of medal contention. The foursome benefited from a Korean penalty to finish in third place (2:44.691), behind the Netherlands (2:39.905) and China (2:39.528).
Sunday’s third medal was earned by veteran skater Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke, Que.), who made her return to the podium after not reaching it once in an individual distance last season. The 30-year-old used a quick start to grab the lead in the women’s 500m, but but was unable to fend off reigning World Record holder Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands (42.972), who passed Boutin in the final lap to take gold. Boutin settled for silver (43.087), while Corinne Stoddard of the United States earned bronze (43.142). Boutin’s teammate Sarault finished fifth (43.220) in her first 500m final in recent memory, unable to break through the pack after starting fifth off the line.
“I had a few tears in my eyes after that race. Everyone wants to finish their career on a positive note, so seeing that I can still compete with the top 500m skaters makes me happy. It’s always stressful when you have girls picking up speed behind you. Today, I used that as a practice to see how I would be able to race from a more defensive position. I’m happy that still managed to post a good time even though I got passed. Typically, when I find myself in vulnerable situations I tend to panic and get passed again, but today I was happy with how I entered the last turn and pushed out to protect my position,” shared Kim Boutin.
Canada concludes the first World Tour stop of the season with seven medals, including three gold, one silver and three bronze. It places them atop the overall medal standings, ahead of Korea (6), China (4) and Italy (4). They sit second in the Team Crystal Globe ranking with 1376 points, while Sarault leads the women’s trophy race with 250 points.
The ISU Short Track World Tour returns to the Maurice Richard Arena next weekend, where the Canadian Ice Maples will be looking to add to pad their lead atop the Crystal Globe standings and secure their quote spots for Milano-Cortina 2026. Tickets can be purchased at www.courtepiste.ca and races will be live streamed on CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sports digital platforms.
CONTACT
Alain Brouillette
Speed Skating Canada
communications@speedskating.ca
613-601-2630