BEIJING — Canadian speedskaters won three gold medals and one silver on Saturday at the ISU world short-track championship.
Steven Dubois took top spot in the men’s 500 metres and William Dandjinou finished first in the men’s 1,500. Courtney Sarault earned silver in the women’s 1,000 and helped the Canadian relay team take gold in the women’s 3,000.
“We worked really hard as a team to get to this point, so it’s really nice to see our hard work paying off and leading us to a gold medal,” Sarault said. “Being able to medal twice today, especially here in Beijing, has just been super special.”
Sarault finished second in the 1,000 with a time of one minute 28.929 seconds. Belgium’s Hanne Desmet (1:28.641) won gold and Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands took bronze (1:28.991).
The Moncton native returned to the ice at the Capital Indoor Stadium later in the day to team with Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, Que., Florence Brunelle of Trois-Rivières, Que., and Fredericton’s Rikki Doak.
The Canadians overtook Poland with three laps remaining and secured gold in 4:09.254. Poland earned silver (4:09.321) and the Netherlands picked up bronze (4:09.392).
In the 500, Dubois, from Lachenaie, Que., claimed gold in 40.008 seconds. Denis Nikisha of Kazakhstan was second (40.096) and Jens van ‘T Wout of the Netherlands was third (40.163).
Dandjinou, from Montreal, was bumped to the back of the pack in the 1,500 with nine laps remaining. He built his speed back up and passed five other skaters to regain the lead before breaking away and taking the victory.
He crossed the finish line in 2:15.064. Belgium’s Stijn Desmet (2:15.176) took silver and hometown favourite Liu Shaoang earned bronze (2:15.871).
Competition continues through Sunday.
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