Courtney Sarault, Pascal Dion, Kim Boutin and Rikki Doak all reach podium on Sunday
DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS – Canada’s short track speed skating team finished the 2022-23 ISU World Cup season on a high, winning five medals – two gold, two silver and one bronze – on the final day of competition in Dordrecht on Sunday.
Courtney Sarault was victorious in the women’s 1000m, Pascal Dion earned his second 1000m silver medal of the weekend, while Kim Boutin and Rikki Doak both reached the podium in the women’s 500m, brining home silver and bronze, respectively. The day ended with a gold medal performance from Sarault, Boutin, Doak and Renée Steenge in the women’s relay.
After a heartbreaking fourth-place finish in yesterday’s 1500m, Sarault (1:32.930) made a pair of exciting passes to bring home gold in Sunday’s 1000m. The Moncton native moved from fourth place to first place in the second part of the race, passing Belgium’s Hanne Desmet from the outside before overtaking Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands (1:33.137) and Gilli Kim of Korea (1:33.037) from the inside to grab the top spot.
The victory helped Sarault earn her second 1000m gold medal of the season and helped her secure second in the overall rankings with 776 points, behind only Schulting (1062), who brings home the inaugural Crystal Globe trophy as the World Cup’s top female skater.
Earlier in the day, Boutin (42.301) and Doak (42.397) earned their second double podium of the season in the women’s 500m, finishing Sunday’s shortest distance in silver and bronze medal position, respectively. The duo crossed the line behind current World Record holder Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands (42.020), who broke away from the pair after a blistering start.
It was Boutin’s second individual distance medal of the weekend, having also captured gold in yesterday’s 1000m. The Sherbrooke native ends the World Cup season with three medals in the 500m, while Doak earned her second career World Cup podium, adding to the 500m bronze medal she captured in Salt Lake City earlier this season.
Sarault, Boutin and Doak then teamed up with Renée Steenge to win women’s relay gold in convincing fashion. The Canadians picked up the speed with seven laps remaining and never looked back, coasting to their sixth medal of the season in 4:13.541. Hungary (4:15.134) finished second, while China (4:15.201) was third.
On the men’s side, Pascal Dion captured his second 1000m silver medal of the weekend. The Montreal native worked his way to the front of the pack with two laps remaining but was unable to defend an outside pass from Ji Won Park (1:25.359) in the entry of the final turn, settling for a second-place finish (1:25.514). Italy’s Luca Spechenhauser (1:25.619) rounded out the podium in bronze medal position.
Steven Dubois and teammate Dion finished the season in the top-5 of the overall World Cup standings, ranked third and fourth, respectively. Korea’s Ji Won Park (1068) was crowned the first-ever winner of the Crystal Globe trophy, awarded to the top male skater.
The ISU World Cup Short Track season concluded with Sunday’s races in Dordrecht. Canada finishes the 2022-23 campaign with a total of 37 medals, including 15 gold, 15 silver and 7 bronze. It is their highest World Cup medal total since the 2015-16 season, when they earned 44 medals.
Quotes
“Before the race I was pretty tired, but really tried to mentally get into my rhythm and just race my race. I felt no leg pain when I was making the pass, so I’m really happy I had enough legs for it. I’m really excited about my second overall finish in the Crystal Globe ranking. I wasn’t sure at the start of this year if I could get a high ranking, but I’m happy that as the year went on I just got better and better!”
Courtney Sarault
“Before the 500m, I knew I had the potential to make the podium, so I’m happy I was able to show what I’m capable of. I felt good the whole race and it ended in a good way. It was super special to share the podium with my teammate Kim [Boutin]. And winning gold with the girls [in the relay] was so fun. We went into the race ready to win and wanted to be first overall, so we gave it everything. It’s also special because it’s the first time the women’s and men’s relay teams both finish first in the overall standings.”
Rikki Doak
“I’m very happy with my day! I put together three really nice races to reach the final and finish second. I was aiming for the gold medal so that I could finish first overall in the 1000m standings, but the Korean [Ji Won Park] had a very good race and took advantage of my loss of balance to pass me in the final lap. Things were really tight in the overall rankings for the Crystal Globe. I think the four of us at the top of the standings showed that we were the most consistent skaters this season, reaching the podium more than everyone else.”
Pascal Dion
Results
Women’s 500m
- Kim Boutin: 2nd
- Rikki Doak: 3rd
- Renée Steenge: 12th
Women’s 1000m (2)
- Courtney Sarault: 1st
- Claudia Gagnon: 14th
- Danaé Blais: 17th
Men’s 500m
- Félix Roussel: 7th
- Maxime Laoun: 15th
- Jordan Pierre-Gilles: 16th
Men’s 1000m (2)
- Pascal Dion: 2nd
- Steven Dubois: 6th
- William Dandjinou: 21st
Relays
- Women’s: 1st
- Men’s: 6th