Canadian Charles Hamelin wins short-track bronze in Japan

Canada's Charles Hamelin picked up his fifth medal in as many events this season at a World Cup short-track speedskating competition.

The Sainte-Julie, Que. native continued his streak by winng bronze in the 1,500 metres in Nagoya, Japan on Saturday. Hamelin finished in a time of two minutes and 27.506 seconds, behind Korean skaters Byeong-Jun Kim, (2:27.237), and Da Woon Sin (2:27.340).

"The final went well… I felt like I had better energy than in the semifinals, except that my blades didn't want to glide like I wanted them," Hamelin said in a release. "I skidded three times through three separate turns. It really took my legs out from me for the last lap. I didn’t have the energy to speed up to pass the Korean in front of me. So I finished third [for the bronze].

"I'm satisfied with my result, but I had expected more. But I take it with a smile anyhow."

Jessica Hewitt, of Kamloops, B.C., was the top Canadian female skater at the event, finishing in fourth place in the 1000 event.

Hewitt's time of 1:32.177 fell just short of a podium finish. Korean skater Soyoun Lee (1:31.443) was third, while Christie Elise of Great Britain won gold in 1:30.489, followed by Korea's Min-Jung Kim in second place (1:31.371).

At a long track event in Astana, Kazakhstan, Fort St. John, B.C.'s Denny Morrison and Ottawa's Ivanie Blondin were the top Canadian finishers, placing sixth in the men’s 1500 and ninth in the women’s 5000.

The men's pursuit team finished just off the podium, placing fourth out of 12 countries.