Kim Boutin races at the ISU World Cup Short Track in Salt Lake City, Utah. .Credit: Brennan Smith, Utah Olympic Oval

Kim Boutin kicked off the World Cup season with a golden performance in the 1500m in Salt Lake City, earning the Canadian short track team its first medal of the 2019-2020 international campaign.

The native of Sherbrooke, Que. made a perfectly executed outside pass on the second last lap of the finals to overtake a pair of skaters and cross the line in first place (2:22.061). She was joined on the podium by defending world champion Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands (2:22.211) and Han Yutong of China (2:22.282).

On the men’s side, 35 year old Charles Hamelin (Sainte-Julie, Que.) narrowly missed out on a podium finish in the 1500m, coming in fourth place. Despite not winning a medal, the result showed that the veteran skater has returned to form following a summer of recovery and rehabilitation from an ankle injury that kept him out of this fall’s Canadian Short Track Championships.

Meanwhile, Canada’s mixed gender relay team – consisting of World Cup rookies William Dandjinou (Verdun, Que.) and Rikki Doak (Fredericton, N.B.), along with second year skaters Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.) and Cédrik Blais (Châteauguay, Que.) – raced to a fifth place result, behind medalists Russia, China and Korea.
Quotes

“It was a super nice finals. With three laps to go I was in third place, but it was a good challenge for me to make a pass. I was forced to go on the outside and it was very exciting. Typically it’s the opposite that happens; I’m in the lead and I get passed at the finish line. I’m very satisfied.”

– Kim Boutin
“Today, things went super well for me. From race to race, I began feeling better. I wasn’t 100% happy with my strategies and how I executed them in my races, but at the end of the day I am satisfied with my result. It was very positive for me and I’m hopeful for good results tomorrow as well.”

– Charles Hamelin