Félix Roussel and Jordan Pierre-Gilles win gold and silver in 500m; Canadian women win silver in 3000m relay

DRESDEN, GERMANY – Canada wraps up the ISU World Cup Short Track in Dresden with three additional medals, including Felix Roussel’s first career gold medal in an individual distance.

Roussel (Sherbrooke, Que.) picked up his second medal of the weekend in the men’s 500m. In a tight race to the finish line, Roussel finished in first place to win his first individual World Cup gold medal with a final time of 40.078. Jordan Pierre-Gilles (Sherbrooke, Que.) claimed the silver medal (40.619), his fourth 500m World Cup medal of the season, after winning gold in Beijing and Montreal. Poland’s Lukasz Kuczynski placed third (41.583).

On the women’s side, Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke, Que.) and Renée Steenge (Brampton, Ont.) both raced in Final B, with Boutin finishing first (43.453) and Steenge finishing 5th (44.177), ranking 6th and 10th overall, respectively. Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands finished in first place (42.108), Ye Wang of China finished in second (42.714), and Kamila Stormowska of Poland finished in third (43.958).

Canada finished a strong race to capture the silver medal in the women’s 3000m relay. With consistent performances throughout the weekend, the Canadian women raced a final time of 4:06.076, finishing in second place just behind the Netherlands (4:05.405). The United States took the bronze (4:09.740).

In the second 1000m event of the weekend, William Dandjinou (Montreal, Que.) finished in 5th place following a fall (2:14.207). Steven Dubois (Terrebonne, Que.) placed first in the Final B, finishing 6th overall (1:25.207). Korea’s Ji Won Park and Jang Sungwoo won the gold and silver, and Adil Galiakhmetov of Kazakhstan won the bronze.

Danaé Blais (Châteauguay, Que.) and Claudia Gagnon (La Baie, Que.) both competed in the women’s 1000m Final B, placing 3rd (1:31.999) and 4th (1:32.004) in the race to finish in 8th and 9th overall. Finishing in first place was Gilli Kim of Korea (1:31.480), Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands in second place (1:31.593), and Corinne Stoddard of the United States in third (1:31.601).

Follow the Canadian team as they compete in the final World Cup of the season in Gdansk, Poland from February 16-18, 2024.

Quotes

“Of course I’m very happy to have won my first gold medal, and it’s certainly a very special moment to share it with my parents, who came all the way from Quebec to see me in Europe. Yesterday I won silver, but I wanted gold. But now I’ve got it. I was gaining confidence with every round and I was really excited to share it with Jordan and the two Sherbrooke guys together on the podium, it was really incredible.”

Félix Roussel

“The race went well. We were pretty much in second place all the way, and then the aim was to try and use that position a little to make use of the girls in front of us, then at the same time block the girls behind to stay there, so that towards the end we managed to get up to the front so that Danae could finish at the front.  We missed a few opportunities to move into first place, but overall I think the race was well executed. It’s just that we missed a few opportunities to get out in front, and then that played a bit on the finish. Of course, with the girls crashing out, we were able to take second place. I think we’re happy with the result, but obviously we’d have been even happier if we’d really worked it all the way to the end. I’m very, very confident for Poland, because we’re going to focus on what we need to improve, and I’m sure we’re capable of winning a medal again in Poland, because that’s what it’s all about.”

Claudia Gagnon

“Super proud of my silver medal today, particularly special with Félix to be at his side for his first individual gold medal. It’s a real source of pride, especially as we’re both from Sherbrooke and we’ve known each other for a very long time. It was really special to share this together. Personally, I had a bit of a technical problem yesterday, and my results were rather disappointing even though I felt very fit. Knowing that today I was able to bounce back well and stand on the podium in the 500m for the fourth time this year makes me very proud and also gives me confidence for the important competitions ahead. That’s why I’m very satisfied, very happy and very proud of Félix too.”

Jordan Pierre-Gilles

Results

500m:

Kim Boutin: 6th
Renée Steenge: 10th
Félix Roussel: 1st
Jordan Pierre-Gilles: 2nd
Philippe Daudelin: 57th

1000m-2:

Danaé Blais: 8th
Claudia Gagnon: 9th
Courtney Sarault: 11th
William Dandjinou: 5th
Steven Dubois: 6th
Pascal Dion: 11th

3000m Relay:

2nd