Felix Roussel claims gold in 3-medal day for Canada at short track World Tour
The Canadian short track team continued their impressive performance at the World Tour stop in Beijing, adding three more medals to their collection a day after winning four medals.
Felix Roussel, hailing from Sherbrooke, Que., claimed gold in the men’s 1,000-metre final with a time of one minute, 25.352 seconds. Roussel expressed his pride in his performance, stating, “I showed that I had the legs and reacted well to the things that happened during my races. Crossing the finish line was an incredible moment. I never dreamed of being back on the podium this quickly.” Meanwhile, William Dandjinou from Montreal narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth in a time of 1:25.773.
In the women’s 500m final, Florence Brunelle and Rikki Doak secured silver and bronze medals, respectively. Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer took home the gold with a time of 42.078. Brunelle, representing Trois-Rivières, Que., finished in 42.202, while Doak from Fredericton crossed the finish line in 42.696.
Brunelle reflected on the team’s success over the weekend, saying, “This has been quite the weekend. We started off with a world record in the mixed relay on Friday and yesterday was a more difficult day in individual distances, but we took gold in the women’s relay. Today, I was able to remain concentrated and filter out the things that didn’t go super well yesterday from my mind. It’s something that I feel I did well, and I’m quite proud of that.”
The Canadian short track team’s stellar performance in Beijing continues to showcase their talent and determination on the ice. With multiple podium finishes and a strong sense of teamwork, they are proving to be a force to be reckoned with in the world of short track speed skating.
