Canada's short track speed skaters win 4 golds to open 2nd World Tour stop in Montreal
The Canadian short track speed skating team racked up four gold medals on the opening day of the second World Tour stop in Montreal, including a pair of individual wins from hometown star William Dandjinou.
The 24-year-old claimed his second victory of the season in the men's 500 metres with a time of 41.126 seconds on Saturday at Maurice Richard Arena.
Dutch rival Jens Van’T Wout was removed from the race for a false start, which brought the field down to four skaters. The six-foot-three Dandjinou grabbed the lead at the restart and never looked back.
China’s Lui Shaoang (41.225) took silver ahead of countrymate Sun Long (52.606).
William Dandjinou captures Short Track World Tour 500m gold in Montreal
Dandjinou, the reigning men's overall champion, added a gold medal in the 1,500m later Saturday in 2:13.217.
Fellow Canadian Félix Roussel of Sherbrooke, Que., crossed the line second but was penalized for an inside pass that knocked two other competitors out of contention.
Lachenaie, Que., native Steven Dubois (2:13.575) was the beneficiary of his teammate's disqualification, getting bumped into bronze medal position behind Japan’s Miyata Shogo (2:13.406).
“I’m super proud of our crowd and the ambiance they created today in Montreal," Dandjinou said. "We could not have asked for a better day."
Dandjinou gold, Dubois bronze in 1,500m at Short Track World Tour in Montreal
Courtney Sarault of Moncton, N.B., also won for the second straight week in Montreal, adding another 1,000m gold medal.
The 25-year-old controlled the pace after the third lap while clocking a time of 1:27.896 in the distance, finishing ahead of South Korea's Choi Min-jeong (1:28.165) and Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer (1:28.235).
“I was feeling a little