The Canadian short track speed skating team dominated the podium at a World Tour stop on Saturday in Seoul.
The team combined for five medal wins at the Mokdong Ice Rink, three of which were gold-medal victories.
Steven Dubois, of Lachenaie, Que., won the men’s 500m final, crossing the line in 41.681 seconds, just ahead of teammate Jordan Pierre-Gilles, of Sherbrooke, Que., who took silver in 41.759.
WATCH | Dubois, Pierre-Gilles go 1-2 in men’s 500m:
Montreal’s William Dandjinou earns gold in 1,500m short track World Tour final
The 23-year-old’s time of 2:14.313 paced the field. Fellow Canadians Steven Dubois – who originally finished the race second – and Felix Roussel were both penalized following a video review.
“I am really happy about my performance today,” Pierre-Gilles said. “It feels good getting back onto the podium, particularly with Steven. Always an incredible moment sharing the podium with a teammate and friend. Really happy how I managed to accomplish that today.”
Montreal’s William Dandjinou also scored a gold medal, winning the men’s 1,500-metre final in 2:14.313.
WATCH | Dandjinou earns gold in 1,500m:
Canada’s Dubois, Pierre-Gilles take home hardware in 500m World Tour race
Steven Dubois of Terrebonne, Que. won the gold medal in the men’s 500m final with a time of 41.681 during the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Seoul. Sherbrooke, Que.’s Jordan Pierre-Gilles was the runner-up, clocking in at 41.759.
On the women’s side, Danae Blais of Châteauguay, Que., won silver in the 1,000m (1:31.010) a week after taking gold at the World Tour stop in Beijing.
“I used to really look at who was in my race and do a strategy with the people [in mind] who were in my race but now I just know what I have to do,” Blais said.
“I don’t even care who is in my race. I really feel like I am a different skater from the last years. It’s really cool to skate and just enjoy and be excited. Instead of being scared and stressed… I love my sport now that I am skating with that mentality.”
WATCH | Blais scores silver in women’s 1,000m:
Canada’s Danaé Blais takes 1,000m silver in short track World Tour bout
The Châteauguay, Que. native finished with a time of 1:31.010 to place second in the women’s 1,000-metre final during the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Seoul.
Blais then joined teammates Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke), Florence Brunelle (Trois-Rivières, Que.), and Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.) to win gold the women’s 3,000m relay in 4:11.634.
The Canadians and Dutch team had gone back and forth holding the lead until the Ice Maples pulled away on the penultimate racer exchange.
WATCH | Canadian women golden in relay:
Canada wins gold in women’s 3,000m relay at short track World Tour
Danaé Blais, Florence Brunelle, Kim Boutin, Rikki Doak and Courtney Sarault earned the red and white the top spot with a final time of 4:11.634 at the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Seoul.
“We were kind of searching for that race, to have a little battle at the end,” Sarault said. “Having those four other teams that are pretty strong and being able to finish that strong and even with a little gap is something that we’re really proud of. We’ve been working really hard to achieve that.”
Action continues in Seoul on Sunday at 12 a.m. ET, which will stream live on CBC Gem and CBCSports.ca.
WATCH | Full event replay of Saturday’s World Tour event:
ISU Short Track World Tour Seoul: Day 1
Watch the opening day of the ISU short track World Tour stop in Seoul.
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/speed-skating/short-track-world-tour-december-14-1.7410188?cmp=rss
