Canada's Kim Boutin strikes 500m gold for her 1st short track individual world title
Speed skating teammate Pierre-Gilles takes bronze in men's 500m event in Rotterdam
Speed skater Kim Boutin raced to her first world championship gold medal in the women's 500-metre event at the ISU world short track championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Saturday.
The Sherbrooke, Que., native led the five-athlete final from start to finish, clocking 42.626 seconds for the victory.
Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands, the two-time defending champion in the event, took silver in 42.833 and Kristen Santos-Griswold of the United States claimed bronze in 42.929.
Velzeboer edged Boutin in the 2022 world championships in Montreal, which was the only other 500 medal the 29-year-old Boutin has received at the worlds.
WATCH | Boutin captures 500m gold in Rotterdam, Netherlands:
The well-decorated Boutin had earned six silver medals and seven bronze across four world appearances before this year, but had not won that elusive gold in any event before her victory Saturday.
"It took me 10 years of racing in World Cups before winning a gold medal at the world championships and I'm really happy to finally have done it," she said. "I told my coach last year that I was tired of my second-place finishes.
"I didn't expect to win at [the] world championships at all after taking time off this season. For me, this was a huge bonus. I am really happy about what I was able to accomplish here today and also for choosing myself throughout this process."
She has also won two Olympic bronze in the 500 at both the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in South Korea and 2022 Beijing Games, as well as a silver in the 1,000mand bronze in the 1,500 in 2018.
Pierre-Gilles, Dubois fall before final lap
Jordan Pierre-Gilles took bronze in unusual fashion in the men's 500 after wiping out simultaneously with countrymate Steven Dubois just before the final lap.
Lin Xiaojun of China (41.592) and Denis Nikisha of Kazakhstan (41.676) raced to gold and silver, respectively, undeterred, but a last-lap crash by Italy's Pietro Sighel opened the door back up for the Sherbrooke, Que., native to earn third-place in 52.289, with Dubois following in fourth (55.412).
"I'm happy with my result and my first medal at the world championships," Pierre-Gilles said. "It's bittersweet . . . I wanted gold.
"When you fall in a race, you don't expect a podium. Since I was young, my parents always taught me to race to the finish line. I got up right after I fell to finish the race, not thinking for a minute I would win a medal."
The event caps a banner season for Canada in the 500 after Pierre-Gilles and Dubois went 1-2 in the World Cup standings, just ahead of teammate Felix Roussel, who was scratched for this weekend after suffering an injury in training earlier this week.
The three-day event will wrap up Sunday with the men's and women's 1,000, mixed team relay, women's 3,000 relay and the men's 5,000 relay.
Competition will be streamed live at 9:02 a.m. ET on CBCSports.ca, CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
WATCH | Pierre-Gilles claims bronze in 500m:
With files from Speed Skating Canada
