Speed Skating Canada

| Events: International, National Team: Short Track

Canada ends Four Continents Short Track Championships with six-medal day

| Events: International, National Team: Short Track

Canada ends Four Continents Short Track Championships with six-medal day

| Events: International, National Team: Short Track

Canada ends Four Continents Short Track Championships with six-medal day

Sarault, Gagnon, Dion, Dandjinou, mixed and women’s relays stand on the podium in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY, USA – It was an action-packed day for the Canadian team on the final day of racing at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships on Sunday. With four individual medals and two podium results from the relay teams, Canada’s athletes added to their massive haul of hardware from Salt Lake City.
 
Courtney Sarault of Moncton, N.B. captured her second individual gold of the weekend with a gutsy performance in the women’s 1000m. After making well-executed passes throughout the race, she sat in second heading into the final lap. Her strong attack at the finish line drew a penalty on the leading skater, propelling Sarault to the win in a time of 1:28.615.
 
The Korean athlete’s disqualification also allowed Claudia Gagnon (La Baie, Que.) to advance into the bronze medal position (1:28.963), her first international podium finish in an individual distance. Li Gong of China rounded out the podium with the silver medal (1:28.840).
 
The men’s 1000m final featured three Canadian athletes – Steven Dubois, Pascal Dion and William Dandjinou. Montreal’s Dion led many of the earlier laps but was passed by Ji Won Park of Korea mid-race and the two never relinquished their positions, earning the gold (1:27.548) and silver (1:27.592) medals. While Dubois was sitting in third heading into the final lap, he slipped coming out of a corner and opened the door for Dandjinou (Sherbrooke, Que.) to capture the bronze medal in 1:27.816.
 
Like the individual distances, the mixed relay final was also marked by several falls. After the Korean team fell on the first exchange, a medal looked all but assured for Canada. Despite Dubois also slipping with ten laps to go, the Canadians recovered quickly and were able to hold their position to cross the line third (2:46.024). The gold and silver medals went to the teams from the United States (2:38.095) and China (2:38.244), respectively.
 
Mixed relay medals were awarded to a total of six Canadian skaters. Maxime Laoun (Montreal, Que.), Dubois (Lachenaie, Que.), Sarault and Léa Tessier (Drummondville, Que.) made their mark in the final and were joined on the podium by Renée Steenge (Brampton, Ont.) and Philippe Daudelin (Trois-Rivières, Que.), who raced in the semifinal.
 
The women’s relay was a back-and-forth battle between the Canadian and Korean teams for much of the race, with several well-executed passes on exchanges and in the straights. Ultimately, the Koreans crossed the line first in 4:04.767, while the Canadian squad – Sarault, Steenge, Gagnon and Ann-Sophie Bachand (Sherbrooke, Que.) – captured silver (4:05.049). The American team (4:06.964) was third.
 
In the men’s relay final, despite crossing the line with the third fastest time, the Canadian team found itself off the podium after being penalized for a push from behind.
 
Canadian short track skaters now return to Montreal for a training block prior to the next World Cups taking place in Almaty, Kazakhstan on December 9-11 and December 16-18.

Quotes

It was certainly a weekend where I got to gain even more racing experience. At the same time, we were focused on having fun with the girls and that’s exactly what I did! I’m very happy with how I raced this weekend. Like my mom would say: A little bit goes a long way!

Claudia Gagnon

The races on Saturday were a bit difficult. There was quite a bit of contact and the fatigue of the third competition in a row started to set in. But I am very happy to have returned strong in the 1000m. I skated really nice races and that is a great finish to the weekend.

Pascal Dion

Results

  • Courtney Sarault: 1st in 1000m
  • Claudia Gagnon: 3rd in 1000m
  • Renee Steenge: 8th in 1000m
  • Pascal Dion: 2nd in 1000m
  • William Dandjinou: 3rd in 1000m
  • Steven Dubois: 5th in 1000m
  • Mixed Relay: 3rd
  • Women’s Relay: 2nd
  • Men’s Relay: 4th