Florence Brunelle races to silver medal for Canada at short track world juniors
Trois-Rivieres, Que., native caps junior career with medal in Germany
Canadian speed skater Florence Brunelle capped her junior career on Sunday by winning a silver medal at the world junior short track championships in Dresden, Germany.
Brunelle, from Trois-Rivieres, Que., made a double-inside pass late in the women's 1,000-metre race to take second spot behind South Korea's Gilli Kim, who finished in one minute 32.294 seconds.
Brunelle was second in 1:32.780 and South Korea's Songmi Oh took third in 1:32.960.
"I was ready to go out and win today, but after the first two laps I found myself at the back of the pack," Brunelle said. "Given the circumstances of the race, I had to adapt and find a way to make some passes and get back into contention. I am happy with how I was able to overcome that challenge."
Brunelle, 19, became the first Canadian to reach the podium in all three individual distances at a single world junior championship since Marie-Eve Drolet in 2001.
"I am happy to end my junior career with a medal in each individual distance," Brunelle said. "It was during my first international competition that my passion for short track speed skating began."
The international short track season continues next weekend in Dresden, where the senior national team will compete at the fifth World Cup of the season.
Other Canadian results:
Women's 1,000 metres
- Ann-Sophie Bachand, 9th
- Ayisha Qi Miao, 17th
Men's 1,000
- Victor Roy-Lafrance, 7th
- Samuel Bureau, 16th
- Mathieu Pelletier, 28th
