The Canadian short track speed skating team racked up four gold medals on the opening day of the second World Tour stop in Montreal, including a pair of individual wins from hometown star William Dandjinou.
The 24-year-old claimed his second victory of the season in the men’s 500 metres with a time of 41.126 seconds on Saturday at Maurice Richard Arena.
Dutch rival Jens Van’T Wout was removed from the race for a false start, which brought the field down to four skaters. The six-foot-three Dandjinou grabbed the lead at the restart and never looked back.
China’s Lui Shaoang (41.225) took silver ahead of countrymate Sun Long (52.606).
William Dandjinou from Sherbrooke, Que., finishes first in the men’s 500-metre final with a time of 41.126 at the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Montreal.
Dandjinou, the reigning men’s overall champion, added a gold medal in the 1,500m later Saturday in 2:13.217.
Fellow Canadian Félix Roussel of Sherbrooke, Que., crossed the line second but was penalized for an inside pass that knocked two other competitors out of contention.
Lachenaie, Que., native Steven Dubois (2:13.575) was the beneficiary of his teammate’s disqualification, getting bumped into bronze medal position behind Japan’s Miyata Shogo (2:13.406).
“I’m super proud of our crowd and the ambiance they created today in Montreal,” Dandjinou said. “We could not have asked for a better day.”
William Dandjinou from Sherbrooke, Que., captured his second gold medal of the day as he won the men’s 1,500-metre final at the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Montreal. Steven Dubois of Terrebonne, Que., placed third while fellow Quebecois Félix Roussel was disqualified.
Courtney Sarault of Moncton, N.B., also won for the second straight week in Montreal, adding another 1,000m gold medal.
The 25-year-old controlled the pace after the third lap while clocking a time of 1:27.896 in the distance, finishing ahead of South Korea’s Choi Min-jeong (1:28.165) and Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer (1:28.235).
“I was feeling a little bit fatigued from last weekend, but I was trying not to think too much about it. I knew if I took it race by race, I could have some good results,” Sarault said. “I was a little bit nervous today, but I’m happy I was able to race well and pull it off.
“I’m happy with my performance. I was in front a little earlier than I wanted to be, but I just gave it my all and worked on managing the race from that position, and it worked out really well.”
Courtney Sarault of Moncton, N.B., wins the women’s 1000-metre final with a time of 1:27.896 at the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Montreal.
Sarault later helped Canada take the gold medal in the women’s 3,000m relay alongside Quebec skaters Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, Danaé Blais of Châteauguay and Florence Brunelle of Trois-Rivières.
The Canadian ice Maples crossed the line in 4:07.341, earning a bit of redemption following a disappointing bronze medal last weekend.
Sarault forced her way to the front after the final exchange, bringing the home crowd to its feet.
South Korea (4:07.517) took silver ahead of Japan (4:10.081).
The Canadian Ice Maples finish first in the women’s 3,000-metre relay final at the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Montreal.
Watch live coverage of Sunday’s medal rounds on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Poland will host the third stop (Nov. 20-23), then it’s off to the Netherlands (Nov. 27-30). The world championships will also take place in Montreal in March, just a few weeks after the Olympics. A live streaming schedule is available here.
Watch opening day action of the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Montreal.
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