Dandjinou repeats as champion, while Brunelle earns first-career overall title
MONTREAL, QUEBEC – Florence Brunelle and William Dandjinou were crowned national champions after three days of exciting racing at the 2024 Canadian Short Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance in Montreal.
It marked the first Canadian Championship title for Brunelle (Trois-Rivières, Que.), while Dandjinou was able to defend the crown he captured for the first time in his career last season.
On the women’s side, Brunelle won five medals (4 gold, 1 silver) and finished the competition with 20,000 points in her four best distances, which helped her easily clinch the first national senior title of her career, ahead of fellow Quebec skaters Danaé Blais (15,760 points) and Kim Boutin (13,120 points). She wins the overall crown away from last season’s champion, Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.), who didn’t participate this weekend after suffering a concussion during training.
Florence Brunelle“The title of Canadian Champion makes me happy and I am very proud of myself. It feels good to have won several medals this weekend. I think it is good motivation for the coming weeks as we prepare for the World Tour. I still have a lot of work to do because I really want to improve and raise my level internationally this year.”
The 20-year-old Brunelle calmly worked her way to the top of the podium in four of six distances, bringing home gold in Friday’s 1500m-1 and 500m-1, as well as in Saturday’s 1500m-2 and Sunday’s 500m-2, before capping off the weekend with a silver medal performance in the 1000m-2, the final race of the competition. Her impressive results ranked her first-overall in both the 500m and 1500m, as well as second in the 1000m.
Florence Brunelle“The highlight of the weekend for me was the second 1500m. After that win, my spot on the World Tour team was secured. There was a lot at stake in that race – stress and pressure – so to stay in my zone and skate a great race was my favourite moment.”
Blais (Chateauguay, Que.) was the only other distance winner during the weekend, bringing home gold in the 1000m-1 on Saturday. A total of eight female skaters reached the podium during the competition, including Brunelle (5), Blais (3), Boutin (2), Renée Steenge (3), Rikki Doak (2), Claudia Gagnon (1), Qi Miao (1) and Victoria Jean-Baptiste (1).
The battle for the men’s title went down to the wire, with defending national champion Dandjinou (Montreal, Que.) besting Steven Dubois (Lachenaie, Que.) in Sunday afternoon’s 1000m-2 to secure the second overall title of his career. The 23-year-old concluded the competition with four medals (3 gold, 1 silver) and 19,000 points in his best four distances, putting him slightly ahead of three-time national champion Dubois (16,560), as well as Sherbrooke’s Jordan Pierre-Gilles (15,400).
William Dandjinou“I feel good about this 1000m race; it’s a good end to the weekend! It was really fun because the five guys in this race are probably the five that we’ll see representing Canada on the World Tour, so to finish the race with this result is great.”
Dandjinou, the reigning 1000m World Champion, won silver in Friday’s 1500m-1, before adding three gold medals to his tallie, winning Saturday’s 1500m-2 and Sunday’s 500m-2 and 1000m-2. Dubois was the top men’s skater after opening day, bringing home gold in both the 1500m-1 and 500m-1, but only reached the podium one other time, winning silver in Saturday’s 1500m-2.
William Dandjinou“I felt really good when I crossed the finish line because I knew what was at stake. Honestly, at the beginning of the weekend I didn’t really believe I could win it all. It was definitely a title I wanted to defend. It wasn’t my priority but it was certainly in the back of my mind, so to have managed to do what I did is incredible. It’s really not an easy competition and it shows the level of skater’s in Canada.”
A total of six male skaters reached the podium over the weekend, include Dandjinou (4), Pierre-Gilles (4), Dubois (3), Félix Roussel (5), Mathieu Pelletier (1) and Philippe Daudelin (1).
The results from this weekend’s Canadian Short Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance will be used to help select the skaters that will represent Canada on the international stage for the first half of the season.
Canada kicks off its international season at home in Montreal, where the all-new ISU Short Track World Tour will make its debut from October 25-27. Don’t miss the chance to watch the world’s best skaters battle for the podium during an unforgettable weekend of action at the iconic Maurice-Richard Arena. Grab your seats now for this historic event, with single day tickets starting at $15 and weekend passes starting at $26.