Dubois captures first Canadian medal of the competition, men’s and women’s relay teams advance to final 

MONTREAL, QUEBEC – Steven Dubois won his first World Cup medal of the 2023-2024 season by bringing home silver in the 1000m on Saturday, while the men’s and women’s relay teams set their sights on the tomorrow’s finals at the ISU World Cup Short Track in Montreal. 

The second racing day opened with the repechage, offering skaters another chance to secure their spot in the main events of the competition. For Steven Dubois (Terrebonne, Que.), it was a day of redemption.  

After finishing third in his heat in Friday’s qualifications, Dubois, who ranked third overall in the 2022-2023 World Cup Classification, powered through the repechage by winning all his races, eventually qualifying for the Final A. In the final, he finished second with a final time of 1:24.916, capturing the silver medal in front of a home crowd. The 1000m title was captured by Korea’s Park Ji Won, while Italy’s Pietro Sighel brought home bronze. 

Danae Blais (Châteauguay, Que.) and Félix Roussel (Sherbrooke, Que.) both competed in their respective 1500m A Finals on Saturday, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively. The Canadian relay teams also had a strong showing this afternoon as both the men’s and women’s squads won their semifinals.  

In the women’s 3000m, the Canadian team of Danae Blais (Châteauguay, Que.), Florence Brunelle (Trois-Rivières, Que.), Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.), and Renee Steenge (Brampton, Ont.) won their heat with a time of 4:09.956, outracing the Netherlands, China, and Italy. They will advance to Final A tomorrow, where they will face off against the Dutch, Koreans and United States.  

The men’s 5000m team, featured William Dandjinou (Montreal, Que.), Jordan Pierre-Gilles (Sherbrooke, Que.) Pascal Dion (Montreal, Que.) and Steven Dubois also secured their place in the Final A, winning their semifinal heat with a time of 6:47.719. They will race for gold against Korea, China and Japan. 

The final day of the ISU World Cup Short Track kicks off with the repechage races at 10:00 ET, while the main session featuring medals in the 500m, 1000m-2, 3000m womne’s relay, and 5000m men’s relay starts at 1:30pm ET. Races will be live streamed on CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sports.  

Quotes 

“It was a day that was a bit hard mentally, and physically too. Plus, it’s the first competition of the season. You never know how your legs are compared to other skaters, but after doing six or seven races, I saw that my conditionning was excellent. I didn’t feel a drop in physical form, so that gives me confidence for the next competitions. Plus, I didn’t do the repechange for nothing – I was able to leave with a medal!”

Steven Dubois

“I feel the level of everyone else has gotten way better. Before, it was the top ten that were really, really good, and now I feel that a few of the smaller countries, those younger girls are coming up a bit as well and there’s actually a few more that stay there longer in the race than they usually do. I think there’s a lot of new talent coming as well, and still a lot of really good girls. A lot of good skaters are here, a lot of strength. I’m just fighting for my spot right now and getting my feelings back. Hopefully, later on this year I can start pushing against the best again.”

Courtney Sarault

Results

1000m-1

Courtney Sarault: 6th
Florence Brunelle: 7th
Renee Steenge: 11^th

Steven Dubois: 2nd
William Dandjinou: 6th
Pascal Dion: 12th

1500m

Danaé Blais: 6th
Claudia Gagnon: 8th
Rikki Doak: 18^th

Felix Roussel: 7th
Maxime Laoun: 10th
Jordan Pierre-Gilles: 33rd

Relays

Mixte Relay: 7th