By Canadian Press

Dandjinou strikes gold at World Cup short track speedskating stop in Montreal

Oct 28, 2023 | 3:37 PM

MONTREAL — After winning his first individual medal in the 1,000 metres last week at the Maurice Richard Arena, Montreal’s William Dandjinou secured his very first gold medal at the ISU short track speedskating World Cup on Saturday in the 1,500 race.

The Montreal native, who won bronze last week, jumped out to a quick lead and was never caught, finishing in two minutes 21.78 seconds to claim his first World Cup victory.

South Korea’s Daeheon Hwang claimed silver in a time of 2:21.809 while teammate Gun Woo Kim took bronze in 2:21.918.

The 22-year-old Dandjinou had qualified for the final round with a late pass in the semifinals at the expense of his compatriot Pascal Dion, who was relegated to the B final as a result.

In the B final, Dion finished in fifth place.

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Jordan Pierre-Gilles, of Sherbooke, Que., added to Canada’s medal haul with a gold in the 500 final, winning the first individual event of his career in a time of 40.349.

Steven Dubois was leading the race when Chinese skater Liu Shaoang caught up with him, but both skaters fell to end their medal hopes. Chinese skaters Liu Shaolin and Lin Xiaojun took advantage and reached the podium.

In the semifinal, Maxime Laoun lost his balance, preventing him from advancing to the A final.

Canadian women regain composure

Canada’s female skaters didn’t win any individual medals last week. But Rikki Doak, of Fredericton, and Danaé Blaiss, of Châteauguay, Que., made sure history didn’t repeat itself by winning gold in the 500 and bronze in the 1,500, respectively.

In both cases, the Canadian skaters benefited from penalties given to their competitors to improve their positions.

Doak initially finished in second place, but Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer, who thought she had won, was penalized and disqualified. Dutch skater Selma Poutsma and Italian skater Martina Valcepina also received medals.

Doak had finished third in this distance twice before in the World Cup. Last week, she narrowly missed the podium.

In the 1,500, Blais (2:34.951), Courtney Sarault (2:35.352), and Claudia Gagnon (2:35.852) initially crossed the finish line in fourth, fifth, and sixth places before officials issued penalties. Belgian skater Hanne Desmet, who had initially won the race, received a yellow card and slid to last place.

This marks Blais’ first individual medal in the World Cup. South Korean skater Gilli Kim (2:34.558) and American skater Kristen Santos-Griswold (2:34.829) finished ahead of her.

The semifinals of the men’s and women’s relays were also scheduled for later in the afternoon.

The activities will continue on Sunday with the second 1,500, the 1,000 and the relay finals. The Four Continents Championship will follow next week at Place Bell in Laval, Que.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2023.

Tommy Thurber, The Canadian Press