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Canada’s Steven Dubois won gold in the 500 metres Saturday at the world short track speedskating championships.
Dubois topped the podium in the same distance last month at the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games and successfully defended his world title in the event.
Despite being weakened by a cold this week, the 28-year-old from Terrebonne, Que., was dominant on Saturday at Maurice-Richard Arena. He led from start to finish in his heats in the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.
Dutch skater Jens van ‘t Wout took silver, while Turkey’s Furkan Akar earned bronze.
Meanwhile, Montreal’s William Dandjinou crashed while comfortably leading his semifinal heat. He went on to win the B final. The other Canadian in the event, Maxime Laoun, was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Earlier Saturday, Canadian skaters were shut out of the podium in the 1,500 metres.
In the final, Dandjinou and Félix Roussel battled during the first half of the race with Britain’s Niall Treacy and Australia’s Brendan Corey in the top four.
However, Dandjinou crashed while leading with just under three laps to go. Roussel also lost his rhythm at the start of the final lap following contact with Corey and slid to the back of the pack. Corey was penalized for the move.
South Korea’s Rim Jong-un won gold. Italy’s Thomas Nadalini took silver and Belgium’s Stijn Desmet bronze.
Laoun, who spent the final at the back of the pack, Roussel and Dandjinou finished fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively.
Dandjinou, the two-time defending ISU World Tour Crystal Globe champion, was the defending world champion in the event.
The 24-year-old had hoped to bounce back at the world championships after missing the podium in the individual distances at the Olympics. He will try again in the 1,000 metres on Sunday.
In the women’s events, Courtney Sarault, who won four medals in Milan, failed to qualify for the A final in the 1,000.
The 25-year-old from Moncton then fell with less than two laps remaining in the women’s 3,000 relay final. The Canadian quartet — also made up of Florence Brunelle, Kim Boutin and Danaé Blais — settled for fourth place. The Netherlands won the race, ahead of Italy and China.
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