Boutin, Dubois both win short track gold at World Cup stop in Netherlands
Dion adds silver, mixed relay team secures bronze on 4-medal day for Canadians
Short track stars Kim Boutin and Steven Dubois both struck gold as Canada hauled in four medals at a World Cup speed skating event in the Netherlands on Saturday.
Boutin, a four-time Olympic medallist from Sherbrooke, Que., won gold in the women's 1,000 metres with a time of one minute and 29.807 seconds, edging Kristen Santo-Griswold of the United States, who finished in a time of 1:29.864.
"I am very proud of my race, because I was going for the gold. I knew that Xandra would probably pull from the front for the whole race, so I wanted to find myself in a good position to practice a pass on her," said Boutin. "I left some distance between us to give myself enough space to try a pass. I am very proud to have been aggressive and successful in my execution. Another tool in my toolkit."
WATCH | Boutin wins gold in women's 1,000m:
Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer placed third at 1:29.968, just ahead of Canadian Danae Blais (1:30.668).
Terrebonne, Que., native Dubois, who led Canada's short-track team at the 2022 Beijing Games with a three-medal performance, won the men's 1,000 in 1:24.532. Teammate Pascal Dion claimed silver in 1:24.659, just ahead of Latvia's Roberts Kruzbergs who crossed in a time of 1:24.682.
"Since I was last on the start line, I knew that I would need to be aggressive in the first laps to make my way up the pack," Dubois said. "When I found myself in second place behind Pascal, I decided to let him work a bit out front and then make a pass for the best chance to win. It was a very difficult race that I managed extremely well, so I am happy to win my first gold medal in the 1,000 this way."
WATCH | Dubois, Dion top podium:
Canada won its fourth medal of the day in the 2,000 mixed relay where the team of William Dandjinou, Rikki Doak, Jordan Pierre-Gilles and Courtney Sarault nabbed silver in 2:38.898.
The Netherlands won the relay gold in 2:38.811, while Poland settled for bronze with a time of 2:39.858.
With files from CBC Sports
