Canada collected its first two gold medals of the short track speed skating World Cup season, thanks to Quebecers Steven Dubois and Pascal Dion, Sunday at the Maurice-Richard Arena in Montreal.
Dubois, from Lachenaie, was the first to reach the top step of the podium, as he emerged victorious in Final A of the 500 meters.
In a final that brought together two other Quebecers, Dubois covered the distance in 40.345 seconds. He edged out South Korean Lee June Seo (40.434) and Italian Pietro Sighel (40.719).
Jordan Pierre-Gilles of Sherbrooke was fourth in 40.920 seconds, while Laval resident Mathieu Pelletier, just 16, finished the race in fifth place in 41.785 seconds.
Less than an hour later, Dion imitated Dubois by winning the 1,000 meters Final A with a time of 1:23.530. The Montrealer was 68 thousandths of a second ahead of South Korean Hong Kyun Wang.
Canadian Maxime Laoun took part in Final A, but was penalized for an illegal gesture with his arm towards the end of the race and dropped to fifth and last place.
Silver medalist in the 1,500 meters on Saturday, Dubois was in position to add a third medal later on Sunday in the men’s 5,000 meters relay, which also included Dion, Laoun and Pierre-Gilles.
Canada was also competing in the women’s 3,000 meter relay final at the end of the day. Sherbrooke’s Kim Boutin was hoping to get her hands on her first medal this season.
Earlier Sunday, Boutin had been eliminated at the end of the quarter-finals of the 1,000 meters, just like Claudia Gagnon, of La Baie, in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
Courtney Sarault was the only one to make the 1,000 meter semifinals. However, she finished fourth in the second heat, with 1:30.139, and had to settle for the B Final, where she placed third.
In the 500 metres, Danaé Blais, of Châteauguay, earned her ticket to Final A after placing second in the second heat with 43.619 seconds. In the final, she finished in fourth place, with 43.398 seconds.
Xandra Velzeboer and Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands won gold in the A Finals of the 500 meters and 1,000 meters respectively.