Four different skaters found the podium twice on Saturday at the 2019 Canadian Short Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance, including Kim Boutin and Steven Dubois who for the second consecutive day won gold in both distances.
Dubois of Lachenaie, Que. continued his impressive start to the season by capturing the top spot in both the men’s 1000m-1 (1:27.026) and 1500m-2 (2:26.743). Pascal Dion of Montreal, Que. finished second in both distances, while fellow Montrealers Maxime Laoun (2:27.394) took bronze in the 1500m and William Dandjinou (1:27.389) bronze in the 1000m to win the first Canadian Championship medal of his young career.
“Everyone’s legs were hurting going into the race, so it was about who was going to do the right moves, at the right time. I made some bad passes, but I recovered from them pretty good and I’m proud of myself for that.”
Meanwhile, Boutin of Sherbrooke, Que. was golden for a third and fourth time this weekend on the women’s side, winning the 1000m-1 (1:31.537) and 1500m-2 (2:24.669). She finished ahead of Alyson Charles of Montreal, Que. (1:31.740) and Courtney Sarault of Moncton, N.B. (1:31.932) in the 1000m-1 and bested Sarault (2:25.444) and Danaé Blais of Châteauguay, Que. (2:25.484) in the 1500m-2.
The 2019 Canadian Short Track Championships conclude tomorrow with the 500m-2 and 1000m-2. The results from this competition help determine which athletes are selected to represent Canada at the ISU World Cups and World Championships.
“My weekend got off to a difficult start with a fall [in the 1500m], so my plan [for the 1000m] was to keep things simple. It was a classic race for me – I went ahead of the pack so that I could lead some laps, because I knew I had the legs to do it, and that’s how I finished in second place.”
