Canadian short track skaters win 3 golds, 2 silvers at World Tour event in Seoul
William Dandjinou, Steven Dubois, women's relay team all strike gold in South Korea
The Canadian short track speed skating team dominated the podium at a World Tour stop on Saturday in Seoul.
The team combined for five medal wins at the Mokdong Ice Rink, three of which were gold-medal victories.
Steven Dubois, of Lachenaie, Que., won the men's 500m final, crossing the line in 41.681 seconds, just ahead of teammate Jordan Pierre-Gilles, of Sherbrooke, Que., who took silver in 41.759.
WATCH | Dubois, Pierre-Gilles go 1-2 in men's 500m:
"I am really happy about my performance today," Pierre-Gilles said. "It feels good getting back onto the podium, particularly with Steven. Always an incredible moment sharing the podium with a teammate and friend. Really happy how I managed to accomplish that today."
Montreal's William Dandjinou also scored a gold medal, winning the men's 1,500-metre final in 2:14.313.
WATCH | Dandjinou earns gold in 1,500m:
On the women's side, Danae Blais of Châteauguay, Que., won silver in the 1,000m (1:31.010) a week after taking gold at the World Tour stop in Beijing.
"I used to really look at who was in my race and do a strategy with the people [in mind] who were in my race but now I just know what I have to do," Blais said.
"I don't even care who is in my race. I really feel like I am a different skater from the last years. It's really cool to skate and just enjoy and be excited. Instead of being scared and stressed... I love my sport now that I am skating with that mentality."
WATCH | Blais scores silver in women's 1,000m:
Blais then joined teammates Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke), Florence Brunelle (Trois-Rivières, Que.), and Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.) to win gold the women's 3,000m relay in 4:11.634.
The Canadians and Dutch team had gone back and forth holding the lead until the Ice Maples pulled away on the penultimate racer exchange.
WATCH | Canadian women golden in relay:
"We were kind of searching for that race, to have a little battle at the end," Sarault said. "Having those four other teams that are pretty strong and being able to finish that strong and even with a little gap is something that we're really proud of. We've been working really hard to achieve that."
Action continues in Seoul on Sunday at 12 a.m. ET, which will stream live on CBC Gem and CBCSports.ca.
WATCH | Full event replay of Saturday's World Tour event: