Courtney Sarault wins World Cup short track gold in Kazakhstan
Fellow Canadians Pascal Dion, Jordan Pierre-Gilles take silver, bronze in men's 1,000
Courtney Sarault earned a gold medal in the women's 1,000-metre final as Canada collected three medals on the first day of the ISU speed skating World Cup stop in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The 22-year-old from Moncton, N.B., finished in one minute 32.671 seconds, just ahead of Shim Suk-hee of South Korea (1:32.770) for her first victory in an individual distance and second World Cup medal in the 1,000 this season.
American Corinne Stoddard rounded out the podium in bronze-medal position (1:33.025).
With five laps remaining, Sarault moved to the front of the pack and held on to the finish line.
WATCH | Sarault strikes gold in Almaty:
Montreal's Pascal Dion (1:26.147) and Jordan Pierre-Gilles of Sherbrooke, Que., (1:26.347) also landed on the podium in Almaty, winning silver and bronze, respectively, in the men's 1,000. Dutch skater Jens van 't Wout took gold in 1:26.074.
A fall from Korea's Ji Won Park in the sixth lap of the closely contested final played a big part in their podium finishes.
Dion briefly overtook van 't Wout with two laps left but was immediately passed by the eventual gold medallist in the next turn. Dion stayed close, but wasn't able to stretch past the Dutchman at the finish line.
WATCH | Dion, Pierre-Gilles crowd podium in Kazakhstan:
Pierre-Gilles moved into third following Park's fall and skated defensively the rest of the race to fend off China's Wenlong Li and collect his first career World Cup medal in an individual distance. Previously, he reached the podium as a member of the men's and mixed relay teams.
"I've been waiting for this first World Cup medal for a long time! I felt that I would win one soon," Pierre-Gilles told Speed Skating Canada. "To have Pascal on the podium alongside me today made it even more special. I'm really excited for the next races and trying to upgrade this bronze medal to silver or gold."
Action in Almaty continues on Sunday beginning at 3 a.m. ET with the 500, 1,000 and men's and women's relays. Watch live coverage on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem and the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android.
Other Canadian results Saturday:
- Women's 1,000 metres: Kim Boutin, ninth and Rikki Doak, 14th
- Women's 1,500: Danaé Blais, fifth; Claudia Gagnon, 21st; and Renée Steenge: 29th
- Men's 1,000: Maxime Laoun, ninth
- Men's 1,500: William Dandjinou, 11th; Steven Dubois, 17th; and Félix Roussel, 23rd
- Mixed relay: Canada, eighth
