Dubois wins gold on 5-medal day for Canada at Four Continents short track championships
Canadian speed skaters won five medals during Saturday’s opening day of the ISU Four Continents Short Track Championships at Place Bell in Laval, Que.
Steven Dubois of Lachenaie, Que., was crowned 500-metre champion, sprinting to a gold medal in 40.149, the fastest time of the competition. His teammate, Jordan Pierre-Gilles of Sherbrooke, Que., finished a close second in 40.183, unable to outstretch Dubois with a last-ditch effort at the finish line.
Andrew Heo of the United States rounded out the podium in bronze-medal position (40.299).
The 26-year-old Dubois also reached the podium in the 1,500 metres, finishing the distance in silver-medal position. He moved into second place with an inside pass during the final lap of the race, crossing the line in 2:33.228. Korea’s Park Ji-won, the reigning World Champion in the distance, captured gold with a time of 2:33.158, while countryman Kim Gun-woo took bronze (2:33.324).
WATCH l Dubois wins men’s 500 at Four Continents:
Featured VideoThe Canadian pair won gold and silver, respectively, in the men’s 500-metre final at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Championships in Laval, Que.
Dubois has now won a Canadian record 10 career medals at the Four Continents Short Track Championships, including five medals in 2020 and three in 2022.
You can’t really ask for better than a silver medal and gold medal. We qualified for the relay final too, so a pretty perfect day overall,” said Dubois.
“I’ve felt good physically for about two weeks now. I really focused on my tactics this year and I think that has showed in my results so far this season. I’m really happy with my first three races of this competition.”
WATCH l Dubois adds silver medal in men’s 1,500:
Featured VideoThe Terrebonne, Que. native clocked in at 2:33.228 to finish second in the men’s 1,500-metre final at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Championships in Laval, Que.
Canada also won a pair of medals in the women’s 1,500 metres, with Courtney Sarault of Moncton, N.B., collecting silver and Danaé Blais of Chateauguay, Que., earning the bronze. American Kristen Santos-Griswold cruised past the Canadian duo with three laps remaining and coasted to a gold medal (2:26.191), ahead of Sarault (2:26.657) and Blais (2:26.765).
The Canadian relay teams capped off the first day of competition by qualifying for their respective A Finals on Sunday after winning their semifinal races. The women’s 3,000-metres team will square off against Korea, Japan and Kazakhstan, while the men will skate against Korea, China and Kazakhstan.
The ISU Four Continents Short Track Championships come to an end Sunday, where champions will be crowned in the 1, 000- and 3,000-metre races, women’s relay and 5,000 metres men’s relay.
Watch live coverage of the Four Continents speed skating championships on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
WATCH l Sarault, Blais reach women’s 1,500 podium:
Featured VideoThe Canadians finished second and third, respectively in the women’s 1,500-metre final at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Championships in Laval, Que.
