Gabriel Jones wins bronze in 1500m, Victoria Jean-Baptiste wins bronze in 500m
GDANSK, POLAND – Canada opened the ISU World Junior Short Track Championships with two bronze medals, marking the first time since 2010 that both a male and female skater reached the podium in an individual distance at the same World Junior Championships.
Gabriel Jones (Deux-Montagnes, Que.), the 2023 Canadian Junior Short Track Champion, raced to a bronze medal in the men’s 1500m, finishing the race in 2:21.439 in a close sprint to the finish. Jongun Rim of Korea finished in first place (2:20.640) and Lorenzo Previtali of Italy finished in second place (2:21.312). Mathieu Pelletier (Laval, Que.) also competed in the Final A, finishing in 8th place (3:18.598).
Jones becomes the first Canadian male to win an individual medal since Steven Dubois captured 500m bronze in 2016.
In the women’s 500m, NextGen team member Victoria Jean-Baptiste (Laval, Que.) came into the competition ranked second in the ISU Junior World Cup Short Track rankings in the 500m after winning a silver medal at the ISU Junior World Cup in Leeuwarden earlier in the season. She took the bronze with a final time of 44.824, finishing just ahead of Korea’s Sumin Yu. Ye Wang of China won the gold (43.921) and Jaehee Chung of Korea claimed the silver.
The men’s relay team, including Jones, Pelletier, Victor Chartrand (Laval, Que.) and Adam Law (Mississauga, Ont.) competed in the 3000m semifinal, qualifying for the Final B. The women’s team received a penalty and will not advance.
The ISU World Junior Short Track Championship concludes tomorrow with the men’s and women’s 1000m, the men’s and women’s 3000m relay, and the mixed team relay.
Quotes
Gabriel Jones“I had a slow start. I was afraid someone would try to lap the pack. It calmed down afterwards. I waited for the right moment to launch my attack and on the last lap I did everything I could to stay in second place, but the Italian managed it well. I’m super happy with my third place.”
Results
1500m
- Miao Qi: 6th
- Courtney Charlong: 21st
- Aaralyn McGill: 31st
- Gabriel Jones: 3rd
- Mathieu Pelletier: 8th
- Adam Law: 25th
500m
- Victoria Jean-Baptiste: 3rd
- Miao Qi: 9th
- Courtney Charlong: 34th
- Mathieu Pelletier: 11th
- Adam Law: 12th
- Victor Chartrand: 13th