Canadian speed skaters clinched gold in the men’s 5,000-metre relay and secured silver in the mixed 2,000 relay at the world short-track championships held on Sunday in Montreal.
The squad concluded the competition with a total of three medals, which is seven fewer than last year and two less than what they achieved at last month’s Milano-Cortina Olympics.
The Canadian national anthem resonated at the conclusion of the day as the men’s relay team, consisting of Felix Roussel, Maxime Laoun, Steven Dubois, and William Dandjinou, earned gold for the second year in a row.
During the final lap, Laoun struggled to fend off South Korea’s Lee Jeong-min. He attempted to overtake him in the closing meters, but both fell, with Lee just managing to finish ahead of Laoun. However, the South Korean team was disqualified after officials determined that Lee had illegally blocked Laoun.
As a result, Roussel, Laoun, Dubois, Dandjinou, and Jordan Pierre-Gilles, who participated in the semifinals on Saturday, claimed the top spot on the podium. China took home the silver medal while Italy earned bronze.
This gold medal marked a turnaround for Dandjinou, who had faced disqualification from the 1,000-metre final earlier on Sunday for blocking South Korea’s Rim Jong-un during his final sprint.
Canada’s Steven Dubois, Maxime Laoun, William Dandjinou and Steven Dubois finish first in the men’s 5,000-metre relay at the ISU Short Track World Championships in Montreal to defend their title.
Rim secured gold after also winning the 1,500 on Saturday. Dutch skater Jens van ‘t Wout claimed silver while Britain’s Niall Treacy took home bronze.
Earlier in the day, Canada faced a narrow defeat in the mixed relay final during the last lap.
Florence Brunelle, Danae Blais, Dandjinou, and Dubois led for most of the early race until Italy surged ahead. Canada reclaimed the lead with two laps remaining when Dandjinou passed off to Dubois, but the 28-year-old from Terrebonne, Que., could not withstand Italy’s Pietro Sighel’s final push during the last lap.
Italy won the world title, finishing ahead of Canada and Belgium, repeating the same podium as last month’s Olympics.
Roussel and Courtney Sarault also played a role in securing Canada’s silver medal, having participated in the quarterfinals and semifinals earlier this weekend in Montreal.
On Saturday, Dubois was the sole Canadian skater to ascend the podium, achieving victory in the 500.
Sarault narrowly misses podium
Sarault finished just outside the podium in fourth place in the women’s 1,500-meter race on Sunday.
South Korea’s Kim Gilli claimed gold, followed by the Netherlands’ Xandra Velzeboer and Corinne Stoddard from the United States.
Gilli was the defending Olympic champion in this event, while Stoddard had also secured third place last month in Milan. Gilli also won gold in the 1,000 on Saturday.
Sarault appeared to lose her balance slightly with three laps remaining while in second position. This mishap disrupted her rhythm, allowing Velzeboer and Stoddard to pass her easily in the following lap.
Blais was also part of the final but fell with five and a half laps to go and received a penalty for colliding with Italy’s Elisa Confortola.