Short Track Speed ​​Skating | Quebecer William Dandjinou crowned world champion in the 1000m

William Dandjinou battled until the very last second of the 1000m final at the World Short Track Speed ​​Skating Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Sunday.

His tenacity was rewarded as he crossed the finish line in first place, becoming world champion in his very first appearance at the Senior World Championships.

Dandjinou did not let his disappointment in the 1500m the day before, where he was disqualified in the semi-final, get him down, although his expectations were high, as he finished the World Cup season at the top of the rankings. this distance.

The Montrealer positioned himself at the head of the race from the first turn in the final, but he had to deal with attacks from South Koreans Ji Won Park and Daeheon Hwang right behind him.

The latter managed to get ahead of the Quebecer halfway through the race, but then collided with each other, opening the way wide for the Quebecer.

The 22-year-old held off a push from Italians Pietro Sighel and Luca Spechenhauser in the final lap to win the gold medal.

“I didn’t want to have too high expectations, but I wanted to have good results. It didn’t go so well in the 1500m [samedi]. I’m very proud of myself and how I bounced back [dimanche] », indicated Dandjinou.

“My strategy was to take the lead from the start, because that’s where I feel most comfortable. There was a good battle, but I had enough space to accelerate during the clash between the South Koreans. I didn’t look back afterwards,” continued the world champion.

Over this same distance, Steven Dubois took first place in the B final. For his part, Pascal Dion was slowed down in the quarter-final.

Dandjinou is the second Canadian athlete to win a world title in Rotterdam after Kim Boutin, world champion in the 500m, on Saturday.

Read “William Dandjinou: quick on his skates, quick in his head”

Another medal for Kim Boutin

On the women’s side, Kim Boutin, Danaé Blais, Rikki Doak and Renee Marie Steenge won Canada’s fourth medal of the weekend in Rotterdam, finishing third in the women’s relay final on Sunday.

Things got lively at the halfway mark. Traffic was heavy at the front of the pack, which forced Blais to skate inside the blocks after taking over from a teammate. Blais, however, let all his opponents pass in order to avoid disqualification.

“The rules say you can go inside the blocks if it’s dangerous. There was a risk of collision due to the Dutch overtaking. As it did not positively affect our positioning, the judges did not penalize us,” explained Blais.

A few laps later, Boutin fell after a collision with an American skater who had just handed over to her teammate. Renee Marie Steenge, however, was very quick to take over and continue the race.

The Canadians then took advantage of a fall by a South Korean skater in the last lap to come from behind and sneak up to the third step of the podium.

“It’s incredible, we’ve worked hard all year for this moment. It’s nice to be on the podium,” said Danaé Blais.

“There was quite a bit of action! We wanted to remain calm. We were ready to have a good race and a third place, that’s kind of what we did during the season. I am very happy with this second medal this weekend, the stars were well aligned, I think,” added Boutin.

The Dutch finished first, ahead of the Americans.

In action in the women’s 1000 m, Boutin reached the semi-finals, where she placed fourth in her heat. The Quebecer did not start the B final for which she had qualified. Blais, for his part, reached the quarter-finals over this distance.

Pascal Dion, Jordan Pierre-Gilles, Courtney Sarault and Renee Marie Steenge represented Canada in the mixed relay, finishing first in the B final. They beat the Poles and the Belgians, while the Chinese won in the A final.