Félix Roussel leads 1-2 Canada finish at German short track event
Félix Roussel of Sherbrooke, Que., took another step up the medal podium at a short track World Cup event in Dresden, Germany on Sunday.
He reached the finish line first in the men’s 500-metre final in 40.078 seconds to beat fellow Canadian Jordan Pierre-Gilles, who clocked 40.619.
Lukasz Kuczynski was the bronze medallist in 41.583.
Roussel, 22, captured silver on Saturday in the 1,000 final ahead of bronze medallist Steven Dubois, of Terrebonne, Que.
Earlier this season, Roussel picked up bronze in the 1,500 metre at Seoul, South Korea in December, two months after claiming silver in the 500 in Montreal.
“Of course I’m very happy to have won my first gold medal, and it’s certainly a very special moment to share it with my parents, who came all the way from Quebec to see me in Europe,” Roussel said. “Yesterday, I won silver, but I wanted gold. But now I’ve got it.”
WATCH | Roussel beats Pierre-Gilles to finish line in men’s 500m final in Germany:
Both natives of Sherbrooke, Que., Félix Roussel claimed the gold medal and teammate Jordan Pierre-Gilles won silver at Sunday’s 500-metre World Cup short track speed skating race in Dresden, Germany.
Pierre-Gilles, also from Sherbrooke, took a pair of 500 races at a World Cup in Beijing in December.
“Super proud of my silver medal today, particularly special with Félix to be at his side for his first individual gold medal,” Pierre-Gilles said. “It’s a real source of pride, especially as we’re both from Sherbrooke and we’ve known each other for a very long time.
In the women’s 3,000 relay final, Canada’s Danae Blais, Kim Boutin, Claudia Gagnon and Courtney Sarault finished second to the Netherlands, stopping the clock in four minutes 6.076 seconds. The Dutch foursome clocked 4:05.405. The United States was third in 4:09.740.
Blais and Gagnon returned to the podium after capturing the women’s 1,500 and 1,000, respectively, in Saturday’s B finals, while Boutin and Sarault redeemed themselves after each placing fifth in the 1,000 and 1,500 finals.
WATCH | Canadian women capture silver in 3,000m relay:
Canada’s Danae Blais, Kim Boutin, Claudia Gagnon and Courtney Sarault finished second to the Netherlands at Sunday’s World Cup short track speed skating relay final in Dresden, Germany.
“I think we’re happy with the result, but obviously we’d have been even happier if we’d really worked it all the way to the end,” Gagnon said. “I’m very, very confident for Poland, because we’re going to focus on what we need to improve, and I’m sure we’re capable of winning a medal again in Poland, because that’s what it’s all about.”
The Canadian team is set to compete in the final World Cup of the season in Gdansk, Poland from Feb. 16-18.
Other Canadian results
- Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke, Que.) — first in women’s 500 B final (43.453)
- Renée Steenge (Brampton, Ont.) — fifth in women’s 500 B final (44.177)
- Danae Blais (Châteauguay, Que.) — third in women’s 1,000 B final (1:31.999)
- Claudia Gagnon (La Baie, Que.) — fourth in women’s 1,000 B final (1:32.004)
- William Dandjinou (Montreal) — fifth in men’s 1,000 final (2:14.207)
- Steven Dubois (Terrebonne, Que.) — first in men’s 1,000 B final (1:25.891)
WATCH | Full coverage of Sunday’s races in Dresden:
Watch day two of the ISU World Cup short track speed skating races from Dresden, Germany.
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