Short track speedskater Will Dandjinou hints at more tactical approach after missed Olympic medals
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Six weeks later, Canadian speed skater Will Dandjinou doesn’t regret the gold-medal-or-bust approach from his Olympic debut in Milan.
It worked this season on the World Tour as Dandjinou won seven of eight short track races to earn his second consecutive Crystal Globe as season champion, but he was held off the medal podium in three individual races at the Winter Games and the men’s 5,000-metre relay after capturing 2,000 relay silver.
“It’s the gold medal that excites me,” Dandjinou expressed Monday in an interview with Brittany MacLean-Campbell of CBC Sports. “I take the risks to be able to go there.
“I have a way of doing things and I like to stay authentic to that way. I like to play the odds and I like to have fun in my sport, so taking that risk was something that I was open to.
“Maybe [you’ll] see me in four years [at the 2030 Olympics in Nice and French Alps taking] more of a tactical approach and trying to figure out stuff differently,” Dandjinou went on, “but that’s the approach I had for these Games and I’m proud I stuck with it.”
On Feb. 14, Dandjinou placed fifth in the men’s Olympic 1,500, two days after finishing fourth in the 1,000.
The 24-year-old from Montreal was in prime position to attack late in the 1,500 after moving behind leader Jens van ‘T Wout of the Netherlands with four laps remaining. Dandjinou entered the final of 13 ½ laps in bronze position, then contacted South Korea’s Shin Dong Min and couldn’t recover.
In a wild men’s 1,500-metre short track speed skating final, Jens van ‘t Wout of Netherlands claimed his second gold of the Olympics, William Dandijinou and Steven Dubois of Canada miss podium.
In preparing for his first Olympics, Dandjinou and his coaches worked on skating with the lead at World Tour events. Entering the 1,500, he figured opponents would try to prevent the Canadian from working his way to the front of the pack.
“Maybe I showed too many of my cards [before the Olympics],” said Dandjinou, adding his competitors let him lead in Italy. “That’s experience.”
Aiming to be a more versatile skater
Two days earlier, Dandjinou led until the last of nine laps in the 1,000 but lost valuable time after slipping in the corner. In the 500, he was penalized for a charge in the final, dropping a spot after crossing the finish line fourth.
A four-time world champion, Dandjinou talked about “living the off-season to its fullest’ — he’s travelling to South Korea later this week and will also visit China — before returning to Montreal and working to become a more versatile skater.
“I have a big frame [six-foot-three without skates] so it’s not always easy to skate on this ice going almost 60 kilometres an hour,” he said. “But I really want to be able to be more technically sharp. Right now, I’m going to take a break and that’ll help me gain perspective.”
A tired Dandjinou had little downtime following the Olympics and admitted his motivation for skating was low, to his standards, in late February.
“Coming [home] it was a lot of love from my family, fans, the community,” he said. “Neighbours that [didn’t] know I skated now recognize me [on] the street.”
Soon, Dandjinou’s focus shifted to the March 13-15 world short track speed skating championships in Montreal, where he crashed while comfortably leading his 500 semifinal heat and went on to win the B final.
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.
In the 1,500 final, Dandjinou crashed while leading with just under three laps to go.
The following day, he won gold in the men’s 5,000 relay and relay silver in the mixed 2,000.
“I was hitting PBs [personal bests] after PBs right after the Games, which was heartbreaking because I would have liked to have hit those [at the Olympics] but home ice is always something different,” he said. “I was in good shape, as I was [in Milan], but maybe a little more comfortable on the ice [in Montreal].
“The competition at worlds didn’t go as well as I wanted but I did some really good races, so I was proud of myself. I finished with a world title and a silver in the mixed relay.
“It was a hard month, with the Olympics being a roller-coaster and world championships also another roller-coast of emotions,” continued Dandjinou, “but being in front of my family and fans in Montreal was amazing.”
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