BEIJING, CHINA – Steven Dubois won bronze in the men’s 500m for his second podium finish of Beijing 2022, adding to the silver medal he captured in the 1500m four days earlier.

In the very quick four-and-a-half lap race, Dubois was in third place from start to finish. With no opportunity to pass, he crossed the line behind gold medallist Shaoang Liu of Hungary and silver medallist Konstantin Ivliev of ROC.

After finishing second in his quarterfinal heat, Dubois kept the speed coming as he raced out to a fast start in the semifinal. The 24-year-old from Terrebonne, Quebec looked poised to punch his ticket into the 500m final but after a collision with South Korea’s Hwang Daeheon during the final lap, he dropped to fourth place, missing out on an automatic qualifying spot for the final.

After review, it was made official that the South Korean would be penalized for an illegal late pass, and that Dubois would advance into the final. Once in the final, he let his abilities do the work, skating his way onto the podium.

Entering the Games ranked seventh in the world in the 500m, Dubois admited that he didn’t have many expectations for his first Olympic experience. After winning silver in the 1500m four days ago and bronze in the 500m, Dubois hopes to skate alongside his teammates on Wednesday for a spot on the podium during the 5000m relay.

This is Canada’s seventh Olympic medal all time in the men’s 500m. That is the most of any country. Canada now has two gold, two silver and three bronze in the event, which was added to the Olympic program at Lillehammer 1994. One of the gold medals from Salt Lake City 2002 belongs to Marc Gagnon, now an assistant coach with the national team.

Quotes

“I knew I was strong, I know I am strong, and I knew I had the potential to win medals. I’m really happy to have won two medals so far and there’s still the 5000m relay [to go]. Definitely can’t say I had expectations for a certain number of medals, but it has definitely been higher than what I expected.”

Steven Dubois

“I had a great evening, I think the races were really exciting. Great performance from Shaoang (Liu), he overtook me almost every race and then in the final, he shot very fast and managed to win gold. Same thing for Konstantin (Ivliev), he started very quickly, had good times and deserved his second position. I also think I skated really well, I’m happy with my performance. I am happy that I performed in my favorite distance.”

Steven Dubois