Pascal Dion and Kim Boutin were victorious in the third and final 1000m of the 2021 Canadian Short Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance in Montreal on Saturday.
Dion finished the men’s 1000m in 1:25,611, edging out Steven Dubois (1:25,634) and Alphonse Ouimette (1:26,876). Saturday’s first-place finish was Dion’s third podium in the distance, having finished second behind Dubois – winner of this season’s 1000m Canadian title – in the first two races.
The Montreal native raced from the front for much of the final, which helped him avoid a big collision that saw teammates Maxime Laoun and Jordan Pierre-Gilles crash violently into the protective mats. Dubois, who lost some momentum because of the crash, made a charge from the pack of the pack but Dion was able to hold him off thanks to a defensive track in the last lap.
On the women’s side, Boutin (1:29,188) earned her second consecutive first-place result in the 1000m, defeating New Brunswick’s Courtney Sarault (1:29,259) and fellow Quebecois skater Alyson Charles (1:29,499) in the final.
With two wins and a combined 20,000 points in the distance, Boutin takes home this season’s 1000m women’s crown. The Sherbrooke native also secured the 500m title following Wednesday’s races.
QUOTES
- “I was very confident in my race strategy today. I knew I had the legs, so as soon as an opportunity presented itself, I made a pass to get to the front. Once I was in the front there was a lot happening in the back including a crash, but it didn’t really affect me. I felt Steven [Dubois] working his way back to the front so I used a defensive track to try and keep my first place position.” – Pascal Dion
- “The final that I raced – staying in second and watching how Courtney [Sarault] was going to finish the race before making my move – was a really great accomplishment. I made some small errors in my first 1000m, but I learned a lot from them. Things went very well for me on Wednesday and today, which gave me three good results in the 1000m and helped me in the overall standings.” – Kim Boutin
RANKINGS
Rankings are calculated based on the best 2 of 3 race results in each skater’s best 2 distances.
Men’s
- Steven Dubois 36,000
- Pascal Dion 30,389
- Jordan Pierre-Gilles 24,797
- Nicolas Perreault 23,773
- Maxime Laoun 22,592
Women’s
- Kim Boutin 40,000
- Florence Brunelle 30,496
- Alyson Charles 27,277
- Courtney Sarault 26,949
- Camille de Serres-Rainville 23,040