Canada's Félix Roussel earns short track bronze for 1st individual distance medal

Félix Roussel, who earned his first international speed skating medal in an individual distance on Saturday, continues to learn valuable lessons in his rookie season on the World Cup circuit.

Positioned at the back of the five-skater field in the men's 1,000-metre final in Dresden, Germany, he took advantage of a collision involving Korea's Tae Sung Kim and Japan's Shogo Miyata that took them out of contention with two laps remaining.

The 21-year-old Roussel moved into third spot and crossed the finish line in one minute 25.016 seconds for bronze behind Latvia's Roberts Kruzbergs (1:23.330) and Korea's Ji Won Park (1:23.231).

"My race was not perfect, not exactly how I wanted it to be. I think I mismanaged the start of the race a bit," Roussel, a native of Sherbrooke, Que., told Speed Skating Canada after his fifth race. "What I do remember the most today are the quarterfinals and the semifinals where I raced really well.

"I'm still really proud to have won a medal. I didn't exactly win the way I wanted to win, but I think it was a reward for the rounds before the final."

WATCH | Roussel clocks 1 minute 25.016 seconds in Germany:

Roussel's teammate, Courtney Sarault, also reached the medal podium, grabbing bronze in the women's 1,500.

Meanwhile, Roussel surpassed his career-best finish of seventh on the World Cup in the 1,500 two months ago in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

"I didn't think I would have this level of success internationally so quickly," he said. "When I think back to my first two World Cups, it was really more about gaining experience for me. My objectives evolved more and more when I managed to make top 10s and A Finals.

"This whole year has been surprise after surprise. I feel like I am impressing myself at each