(Montreal) Courtney Sarault couldn’t wait to get home and crash on her couch. Kim Boutin planned to call family members to clear her mind despite a good, but long day at work.
Posted at 5:14 p.m.
Canadian skaters were perfect Friday in the preliminaries and qualifying rounds for the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, held at the Maurice-Richard Arena. However, they will have to manage their energy well and overcome mental fatigue during a grueling weekend.
On the men’s side, Steven Dubois, Pascal Dion and Jordan Pierre-Gilles reached the quarter-finals in the 500 meters and 1000 meters. They also earned their ticket to the semi-finals in the 1,500 metres.
Photo Eric Bolte, USA TODAY Sports
Steven Dubois
Among the ladies, Boutin, Sarault and Alyson Charles imitated their teammates.
In the absence of several big names in short track, the door is open this weekend in Montreal for Canadian skaters, who will however have to overcome a busy schedule.
In the World Cup, the races are usually spread over four days and the skaters will not necessarily register for each of the three individual distances.
The scenario is different at the Worlds. The six Canadian skaters competing in the individual events are in action in the 500 metres, 1000 meters and 1500 metres.
The men therefore participated in five races on Friday, and the women in three.
“It’s a big challenge, not only physically, but also mentally,” said Sarault, who finished second overall at the 2021 Worlds.
Photo Martin Chamberland, THE PRESS
Courtney Sarault
On Saturday, competitors could take part in a maximum of five individual races, in addition to the relay. The finals of the 1500 meters and 500 meters will then be on the schedule, as well as the semi-finals of the relays.
“Everyone is going to be tired and you have to know when you can save your legs. If there’s no pressure behind it, you can ease off a bit,” said Dion, first in the World Cup standings in the 1,000 meters this season, and second overall.
Boutin, however, reminded that we should not be too cautious.
” Everything is in the nuance. You want to qualify for the final while keeping the energy for this one,” noted the four-time Olympic medalist.
Since their return from Beijing, where they collected four Olympic medals, the Canadian skaters have adapted their physical preparation to the schedule of the Worlds.
“We did sequences with shorter intervals,” Charles explained. Sometimes we would do a race, then another after a break of only 10 minutes. »
We will have to see if this preparation will pay off on Saturday and Sunday.
Not the same value?
Chinese and Japanese skaters have been scrapped from the Worlds due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while Russian and Belarusian skaters have been excluded due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Dutchwoman Suzanne Schulting, two-time world champion and three-time Olympic champion, had to forfeit Thursday after testing positive for COVID-19. Italian Arianna Fontana, who has won 11 Olympic medals, is also absent.
“I admit that it saddened me. It’s fun to fight when the great athletes are with us,” Boutin said. I would have liked to fight with these girls, but it is not uncommon for athletes to take a break after the Olympics. »
Among the men, the South Korean Hwang Daeheon, Olympic champion in the 1500 meters, and the Hungarian Liu Shaolin Sandor, second at the Worlds in 2018 and 2021, are among the other absentees.
If we win, for sure we won’t be as happy as if everyone was there. The goal of the World Championship is to bring together all the best. We’ll be less festive, but it would still be a headline if we can get it.
Pascal Dion
Charles Hamelin and Maxime Laoun will complete the Canadian team in the 5000 meter relay, Saturday and Sunday. Danaé Blais and Florence Brunelle are registered with their teammates in the women’s 3000 meter relay.
Hamelin, which will celebrate its 38and birthday on April 14, is in his last career competition.