Short Track: Pascal Dion, Steven Dubois, Charles Hamelin and Jordan Pierre-Gilles golden in men’s relay
Canada earned four medals – one gold and three silver – on the final day of the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary.
Men’s 5000m relay
Competing in the men’s 5000m relay, Pascal Dion, Steven Dubois, Charles Hamelin, and Jordan Pierre-Gilles finished the weekend strong with a gold medal. There was a considerable amount of overtaking as the five teams (Canada, Hungary, Russia, Korea, and Italy) jostled for position. With 5 laps to go Dubois set the Canadians apart, and the team kept pace to finish with a time of 6:44.045. The Koreans placed second (6:44.892) and the Hungarians third (6:45.003).
Men’s 1000m
Pascal Dion led the 1000m final but was overtaken near the end by Hwang Daeheon. The Canadian finished second with a time of 1:25.698, just 0.273 seconds behind the Korean. It was his second individual podium of the weekend and his fourth individual medal of the World Cup season. Dutchman Itzhak de Laat rounded out the podium (1:26.211). Over the same distance, Jordan Pierre-Gilles finished fifth and Charles Hamelin 17th.
READ: Pascal Dion captures his third individual World Cup medal of the season
2000m mixed relay
The Canadian 2000m mixed relay team, made up of Charles Hamelin, Steven Dubois, Camille De Serres-Rainville, and Florence Brunelle started the final in the lead. They were quickly overtaken by the Chinese who controlled the race to the end. The Canadians managed to maintain their position, despite an attack by the Hungarians who fell with two laps to go. The silver medal (2:39.651) earned Canada its first distance medal this season. France finished in third place (2:40.417).
Women’s 3000m relay
Kim Boutin, Courtney Sarault, Alyson Charles, and Florence Brunelle competed in the women’s 3000m relay. Boutin started fiercely, and Canada stayed in front until the Dutch passed them with 12 laps to go. The Canadians finished with a silver medal (4:06.769). China placed third (4:06.782).
Women’s 1000m
In the women’s 1000m final, Courtney Sarault finished in fifth place, Kim Boutin 13th and Alyson Charles 16th.
The Canadian team will be back on the ice November 25-28 in Dordrecht, Netherlands.
