Short Track Speed ​​Skating | Gold and silver relays

Olympic men’s relay champions Pascal Dion, Steven Dubois, Maxime Laoun and Jordan Pierre-Gilles have proven that even without Charles Hamelin, now retired, they can hold the torch high.

They did just that on Sunday, winning gold at the short track speed skating World Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Canadian quartet increased the intensity of the Final with 23 laps to go when Steven Dubois took control of the race and then added more to his next stint. The Chinese briefly found themselves in the lead with 14 laps to go, but it was again Dubois who propelled Pascal Dion ahead at the start of the final ten laps.

Maxime Laoun blocked overtaking well in his last laps and Jordan Pierre-Gilles perfectly pushed Dubois to close the door in the face of the Koreans at the same time as a Kazakh skater lost his footing. Dubois put the gas on the bottom to distance the Chinese and Koreans who fought hard for second place where it was the Koreans who finished with the silver medal.

Félix Roussel was also awarded a gold medal for skating in the quarter-finals.

A few minutes earlier, Danaé Blais, Kim Boutin, Courtney Sarault and Renee Marie Steenge had been the second fastest in the women’s relay final. The Canadians also placed second at the Montreal stop last week.

Claudia Gagnon and Rikki Doak also received a medal, as they skated in the preliminary rounds.

“It was the first time that we had this order of skaters and it was the second time in my career that I finished a relay. So there was a lot of pressure and in the end, it all went quite well,” admitted Blais, who lost pole position at the end of the race.

“We made a few small mistakes, we were late in the middle of the race and it took a bit of energy from us. And with a lap and a half to go, I didn’t have a super good line. I still have a lot to learn the hard way, but let’s just say it was close! »

New Brunswick honored in individual events

Saturday was marked by the gold medals of Quebecers Kim Boutin and Maxime Laoun in the 500m. Sunday, it was the turn of New Brunswickers Courtney Sarault and Rikki Doak to climb on an individual podium. Sarault took silver in the 1,000m, while Doak took bronze in the 500m.

Steven Dubois (500m), Danaé Blais (500m) and Pascal Dion (1000m) were all finalists, but they were unable to fight their way to the podium.

It was Danaé Blais who came closest to getting there. Indeed, the skater from Châteauguay had her compatriot Rikki Doak steal the bronze medal in the 500m by only 8 thousandths of a second in what was the first A final in a 500m World Cup of her career.

“Even if it’s frustrating, at the same time, it’s still great feats for someone who didn’t think they were a sprinter. Being in an A final, I can be proud of myself. I have to learn the hard way, because I have no experience in the 500 meters at the international level, but slowly, my brain is assimilating what to do,” summarized Blais.

Steven Dubois found himself at the back of the pack in the second half of the 500m final and he ran out of time to find the fault in the group and make an overtake. He was still able to move from fifth to fourth place in the home straight.

In the men’s 1,000m, Pascal Dion was tentatively third behind two South Koreans when he lost his balance coming out of the final corner of the penultimate lap and finished fifth.

As for Kim Boutin, she finished third in the B final of the 1000m, good for eighth place overall.

The Canadian short track speed skating team will remain in Salt Lake City to compete in the Four Continents Championships next weekend.