Marianne St-Gelais finishes 2nd overall at short track worlds
Canadian speed skater reaches podium for 3rd time at championships this weekend
Marianne St-Gelais skated onto the podium in the 1000-metre race at the short track world championships in the Netherlands on Sunday, but the Canadian came second to Great Britain's Elise Christie in both that race and for the overall world title.
St-Gelais had a slight lead in the overall standings after skating to silver in both the 500m and 1500m on Saturday, but Christie came back on the final day to beat the Canadian and Shim Suk-hee of South Korea, who also won the 3,000m final.
- St-Gelais a model of speed, style and substance
- Marianne St-Gelais closing in on short track world title
After Christie took gold ahead of St-Gelais in the 1000m, the 26-year-old from Scotland hung on for third place in the concluding 3000m to clinch the unlikely title.
Following seven silver and bronze medals at previous world championships, Christie left Rotterdam's Ahoy stadium with three top finishes over the three-day championships and the victory was all the more remarkable since she suffered a concussion earlier in the season.
Christie topped the standings with 89 points, while St-Gelais finished with 68 points, ahead of Suk-hee's 52.
St-Gelais also competed in the 3000m super final and finished 4th.
"I'm satisfied with this second place finish overall, although I'm a bit disappointed because I was initially aiming for the overall world title," St-Gelais said. "Still, when I look at the bigger picture, I tell myself that there are things that I've really improved and things that I've done really well, and this is the kind of progress that bodes well running up to the Olympic Games."
Girard among leaders
South Korea continued its domination of the men's events, with Seo Yi-ra taking first place in Sunday's 1,000m before claiming the overall gold with 81 points ahead of local challenger Sjinkie Knegt (73) and Samuel Girard of Canada (37).
Girard was penalized for bumping another competitor in the 1000m semis and did not advance to the final, however, he later finished fourth in the 3000m to solidify his spot in the top-three.
"I'm really happy," Girard said. "I came here with a basic goal of doing well in each one of my races and applying well all the things I've worked on over the last few months, and it paid off. I made a few small mistakes, but it's part of the learning process."
Canada's Charles Hamelin scored a bronze medal in the men's 1000m race and finished eighth overall.
In the relay races, China won the women's title ahead of Hungary and Japan, while the Dutch men took gold ahead of China and Hungary.
With files from CBC Sports