(Montreal) Eyes in the water, his daughter Violette in his arms, Charles Hamelin greeted the Montreal crowd for the very last time, Sunday, after winning the bronze medal with his teammates in the relay.
Posted at 3:14 p.m.
Updated at 5:09 p.m.
The Canadian skaters, who had won gold at the Olympic Games, could not repeat the feat in Montreal. But they made sure to give Hamelin one last career medal, his 38and in World Championships.
The gold medal went to the South Koreans and the silver to the Dutch.
Nicknamed the locomotive of Sainte-Julie, Hamelin will have spent 19 years on the national team. He won six Olympic medals, including four gold, and 142 World Cup medals. He has long been awarded the status of a sports legend, and deservedly so.
On the women’s side, the Canadians delivered a great performance in the relay. Kim Boutin, who closed the race for Canada, led the group until the last corner. She protected herself to prevent the Dutch skater behind her from passing, but the Korean skater took the opportunity to pass her on the outside to steal the gold from the representatives of the maple leaf, who inherited the silver .
The latter were nevertheless all smiles after the race, they who had to settle for fourth place at the Olympic Games. It is a fourth silver medal for Boutin at these World Championships.
Kim Boutin and Pascal Dion vice-world champions
Kim Boutin and Pascal Dion both finished the World Short Track Championships in second place overall.
Everything was confirmed on Sunday afternoon, during the last individual events of the event which has been taking place since Friday at the Maurice-Richard arena, in Montreal.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Pascal Dion after his victory in the 3000m ensuring him the title of vice-world champion
To determine the final cumulative ranking, the top eight athletes per gender competed in a 3000m super-final.
Kim Boutin had to finish first ahead of Minjeong Choi to win the title of world champion. She came very close to getting there, but had to settle for second place.
Pascal Dion, who had won silver in the 1500 meters on Saturday, was fighting for the title of vice-world champion. He delivered the goods by winning the 3000m, securing his second world ranking behind Hungary’s Shaoang Liu.
Earlier in the day, Kim Boutin had won her third silver medal of the weekend in the 1000m. The Sherbrooke resident took first place from the start of the very tough final, followed by her teammate Courtney Sarault. The two Canadians led the charge in the first two laps, until South Korea’s Whimin Seo passed on the outside to take the lead.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Kim Boutin (center) took 2and rank in the 1000 meter final.
Halfway through the race, Boutin regained the lead before being overtaken by the other South Korean, her main rival, Minjeong Choi. The latter won gold, while Dutch Xandra Velzeboer took bronze.
New Brunswick’s Courtney Sarault lost her footing while trying to pass on the penultimate corner. She received help from Boutin to leave the rink.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Courtney Sarault and Kim Boutin
On the men’s side, no Canadian was able to make it through to the A final of the 1000m. In the semi-finals, Steven Dubois was deported after contact with an opponent in a turn and finished last in his heat.
For his part, Pascal Dion fought well in a very busy race in terms of overtaking. He took third place, which was not enough to secure his place in the final. It’s a disappointment for the Montrealer, who is the World Cup champion in this distance this season. He did, however, win his B final, earning him valuable points in the cumulative standings.
In the A final, the Hungarian Shaoang Liu won the gold medal, his third of the weekend.