Recently crowned Canadian champions in short track speed skating, William Dandjinou and Florence Brunelle will be part of the line-up of 10 athletes who will participate in the new ISU World Circuit, which will replace the World Cup starting October 25 in Montreal.
For the men, Steven Dubois, Jordan Pierre-Gilles, Félix Roussel and Philippe Daudelin will also be there. Danaé Blais, Kim Boutin, Rikki Doak and Qi Miao were selected for the women’s side.
Qi, 19, will compete on the main circuit for the first time in her career after becoming a junior champion in Canada last November. Daudelin will begin the season with the national team after taking part in the last World Cups last winter.
The rest of the men’s team needs no introduction. Dubois, Dandjinou, Roussel and Pierre-Gilles respectively finished second, third, fifth and seventh in the race for the crystal globe last season.
Like last year, Dandjinou was Canadian champion at the start of the season. He continued his momentum with six individual World Cup medals, including three victories in the 1500m, then won the world title in the 1000m.
A similar season would already represent a great accomplishment, but the 23-year-old Montrealer wants more.
“I want more.” Yeah. Not because copying and pasting would be bad, but because there is a way to do it. The Olympic year is coming. There are learnings and situations in which I want to put myself before the Games to be as ready as possible. And it must be done this year. »
After missing the start of last season to focus on an internship, Boutin will be back in full-time training. She finished the season strong on March 16, being crowned champion for the first time in her career. It was in the 500m.
She now turns her attention to the 2026 Olympic Games, for which she hopes to qualify with an emphasis on performance as well as mental health.
Until then, on the world circuit, she wants to be the “Messi” of her team. That is to say “don’t run every ball, but run when it matters.” »
“We really choose our moments so that I am optimal at the right time, like last year. For me, it’s more about choosing when I want to be 100% and exploiting that form, at that moment. I see it as a ball of energy that I keep all year round and when I want to really perform, I go for it 100%. »
A new globe
While the names remain essentially the same, the format of the competition will change significantly. Thus, there will only be one race per distance, i.e. 500, 1000 and 1500 meters, and athletes will no longer be limited to two races. Each country will be able to send three skaters per distance.
Recently named head coach of the national team, Marc Gagnon could therefore have a lot of headaches when he and his team have to establish which skaters will participate in each race.
“It’s a lot of challenges for a coach of the Canadian team with the talent we have,” said Gagnon. We can only send three skaters per distance, which means we can no longer give everyone as much experience. »
The men’s 5000m relay, the women’s 3000m relay and the mixed 2000m relay were also retained. The biggest new feature will undoubtedly be the creation of a team crystal globe, which will encompass all points from individual races and relays.
The Canadians are already coveting this new trophy. The high performance director, Marc Schryburt, also said that his team had done the calculation and that the maple leaf would have obtained it over the last two or three seasons.
The fight should be close with South Korea, dominant for years in short track.
For the moment, it is difficult to know if this new team championship will change anything in terms of strategy, even if several Canadian skaters often compete on the ice.
Pierre-Gilles is, however, categorical: he will not change his approach.
“No,” he replied confidently. I don’t think there will be a big difference. We’re used to training together. I think that internal competition is what allows us to be more efficient internationally.
“The fact that there is a crystal globe per team gives us the desire to prove that we are capable of having it and it also pushes us to push our limits in relays, including the mixed relay, an event in which we have not performed much to date. »