Short Track | Kim Boutin falls in 1000m preliminaries, Canada in relay final

She was first in her wave. His place in the quarterfinals of the 1000m was assured. But a few meters from the finish line, Kim Boutin fell.

Jean-Francois Teotonio
The Press

The first position of this race seemed played. There was a good battle for second place, at the back. Until Kim Boutin’s skate got stuck in the ice. Nothing to do, the quadruple Olympic medalist was excluded from the event before even joining the quarters.

Canadian Courtney Sarault dominated her wave. She moved on to the next stage by finishing first, ahead of Belgian Hanne Desmet.

Alyson Charles of Montreal finished third in her heat. But she took advantage of a penalty awarded to the French Tifany Huot Marchand to get her ticket for the quarterfinals.

The rest of the women’s 1000m will take place Friday morning, Montreal time.

Canada will skate for a medal in the relay

Kim Boutin was able to recover a little less than an hour later. She was at the start of the semi-final of the women’s 3000m relay, accompanied by her teammates Courtney Sarault, Florence Brunelle and Alyson Charles.

The Canadians held on to the lead. Second place was hotly contested between the Russian Olympic Committee and South Korea.

The only time the first position was in danger, Florence Brunelle rose to the challenge brilliantly. Overtaken by South Korea, the skater from Trois-Rivières played daringly to regain her first place almost instantly.

The grand final of this discipline will be played on Sunday. The Maple Leaf will be battling the Netherlands, China and South Korea.