Canadian short track skaters win 4 medals, including 3 golds at World Tour event
Dandjinou, Dubois, women’s relay team all reach top of the podium
A focus on teamwork — in both individual distances and in the relay — helped Canada's short track squad capture four medals, including three gold, on home ice on Saturday during the second stop of the ISU Short Track World Tour in Montreal.
The women's relay team of Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke, Que.), Danae Blais (Chateauguay, Que.), Florence Brunelle (Trois-Rivieres, Que.) and Rikki Doak (Fredericton, N.B.) earned a gold medal, finishing the 27-lap marathon with a time of 4:07.841. They were joined on the podium by Italy (4:08.112) and China (4:09.376).
The Canadian quartet showed resilience, refocusing following a disastrous fall in the semifinal that almost put them out of medal contention. Fortunately for the hometown team, they were advanced to the A Final after Poland was penalized during that same race.
WATCH | Dandjinou continues his dominance in 1,500m:
In the loaded A Final, Brunelle passed both an Italian and Korean skater during her final leg, giving Canada the lead with three laps remaining, before propelling Boutin into the final sprint to the finish.
Canada also captured three medals in individual distances on Saturday.
WATCH | Dubois takes home 500m gold:
Dandjinou (Montreal, Que.) opened the day by repeating as the men's 1,500-metres winner, earning a first-place finish in the longest distance for the second consecutive weekend. The current Crystal Globe points leader posted a time of 2:17.138, placing him ahead of Latvia's Robert Kruzbergs (2:17.246) and Italy's Sighel (2:17.364).
WATCH | Canadian women's team on its gold-medal win:
