Steven Dubois collects short track silver for Canada at World Cup opener in Montreal
Jordan Pierre-Gilles 4th in men's 1,000m; Claudia Gagnon 7th in women's 1,500
Steven Dubois, who won a speed skating silver medal for Canada in the 1,500 metres at the Beijing Olympics in February, delivered the same result at the season-opening short track World Cup on Saturday in Montreal.
Dubois, who led midway through the A final, reached the finish line at Maurice Richard Arena in two minutes 14.312 seconds behind South Korea's Park Ji Won and 1-1000th of a second ahead of his teammate, Hong Kyung Hwan, in a photo finish.
"It was a crazy race. I knew I had to be in front and made my way there, but got pushed back after about six or seven laps," Dubois said in a Speed Skating Canada news release. "I took a few laps to regain my composure — I knew I had the legs, I just needed to take a breather."
"I didn't want to jump right back into the action, so I just watched what was happening. I knew the two Dutch skaters really used their legs and that I could pass them. And then I had some speed coming out of the final turn and just laid it all out."
Montreal's Pascal Dion fell and placed last among the six finishers in 2:54.242.
Two weeks ago, Dubois of Terrebonne, Que., won the men's national title for a third consecutive year at the Canadian championships in Quebec City.
"He has great potential," Dubois' former relay teammate, the retired Charles Hamelin, told Montreal's La Presse newspaper. "He has exceptional athletic and skating qualities that I myself have never had in my life. If you combine these qualities with a certain confidence, forget it, the rest of the world will not find it funny!
"When confidence kicks in and he goes for it fearlessly, he's going to be tough to beat."
WATCH | Dubois wins 1,500-metre silver medal in photo finish:
Dubois, a triple medallist at the Beijing Winter Games, captured silver in a penalty-filled competition in China along with relay gold in the 5,000 and bronze in the 500.
A substitute with the 2018 Olympic team in Pyeongchang, South Korea, he was fourth in the 1,500 at the 2019 world championships and the following year picked up silver in a triple-medal effort at the Four Continents championships in Montreal.
Canada wins mixed relay bronze
Canada won bronze in the 2,000-metre mixed relay on Saturday with a time of 2:41:066. Korea (2:39.586) claimed gold, while Belgium (2:41.025) finished second in the 18-lap race.
Canada was represented by Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.), Rikki Doak (Fredericton), Félix Roussel (Sherbrooke, Que.) and Mathieu Pelletier (Laval, Que.).
It is the first career World Cup medal for Doak, Roussel and Pelletier. Dubois, Dion and Claudia Gagnon also received medals for their participation in Friday's quarter-finals.
WATCH | Canada skates to bronze in mixed relay:
Sherbrooke's Jordan Pierre-Gilles was fourth in the men's 1,000 (1:24.532). Roberts Kruzbergs of Latvia won in 1:23.959.
Claudia Gagnon placed seventh (2:32.519) of seven finishers in the women's 1,500, won by Suzanne Schulting (2:31.052) of the Netherlands.
In the women's 1,000, three-time defending Canadian champion Kim Boutin finished fourth in her heat and advanced to the B final. The A final featured Doak, who fell and didn't register a time.
The next stop on the World Cup short track circuit is Salt Lake City on Nov. 4, followed by Almaty, Kazakhstan (Dec. 9-11, Dec. 16-18).
