Canadians win 3 gold medals at short track worlds in Beijing
Will Dandijinou, Steven Dubois, and women's relay team all strike gold
The Canadian short track speed skating team won three gold medals and added a silver at the world championships in Beijing on Saturday.
The Canadian women's relay team of Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.), Rikki Doak (Fredericton), Florence Brunelle (Trois-Rivières, Que.), and Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke, Que.) won gold in the 3,000-metre final.
The Canadians crossed the line in four minutes, 9.254 seconds, holding off silver medallists Poland (4:09.321) and the bronze-medal winning team from the Netherlands (4:09.392).
"We worked really hard as a team to get to this point, so it's really nice to see our hard work paying off and leading us to a gold medal," Sarault said in a release.
WATCH | Canadian women score gold in relay:
Montreal's Will Dandjinou won gold in the men's 1,500m final, stopping the clock in 2:15.064.
Stijn Desmet of Belgium won silver in (2:15.176) while Liu Shaoang of China (2:15.871) took the bronze medal.
"I was super happy with my level of execution today; it was probably my best 1,500m of the season," Dandjinou said. "I am happy to share a world title with my teammate Steven and with the girls' relay team.
"We've been building momentum as a team this season, so celebrating our titles together is amazing! Now we must remain focused on the elements that make us good so we can get the most out of our performances tomorrow."
WATCH | Dandjinou scores gold in Beijing:
Steven Dubois also won gold for Canada in the men's 500m final. The Terrebonne, Que., native finished in 40.008 seconds, ahead of Denis Nikisha of Kakahkstan (40.096). Jens van'T Wout (40.163) took bronze.
"It was the only medal missing in my career," Dubois said. "I had silver and bronze in individual distances at the world championships, and had all three at the Olympic Games, so I was really looking forward to winning this one.
"I felt super confident all throughout the year and think I had some very consistent results. For me to finally be clutch and take it home now feels amazing."
WATCH | Dubois scores 500m gold:
Sarault added an individual silver in the women's 1,000m final, which was won by Hanne Desmet of Belgium (1:28.641). Sarault (1:28.929) beat out Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer (1:28.991) for second place.
"I feel really amazing about today. Towards the end of the season, I was getting my confidence back and everything was coming together again," Sarault said. "I felt way healthier and more fit than I had all year. I knew it was going to take a bit of time, so with this competition I didn't set big expectations.
"I knew I could achieve good things but I wasn't sure if my racing would be as good as it normally is. I knew deep down that if I did everything I could and enjoyed the process that the results would come."
WATCH | Sarault wins silver in the 1,000m:
The full list of Canadians at the short track worlds:
Men
William Dandjinou: 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m
Steven Dubois: 500m, 1,000m
Maxime Laoun: 1,500m
Jordan Pierre-Gilles: 500m
Félix Roussel: 1,000m, 1500m
Women
Danaé Blais: 1,000m, 1,500m
Kim Boutin: 500m
Florence Brunelle: 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m
Rikki Doak: 500m
Courtney Sarault: 1,000m, 1,500m
Each Canadian skater is also eligible to compete in relays.
How to watch:
Every medal race will be streamed live on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem, starting at 2 a.m. ET on both Saturday and Sunday. Here's the full schedule of events.
