Canadian Dandjinou earns 1,000m gold in dramatic fashion at short track worlds

Canadian speed skater William Dandjinou secured gold in the men's 1,000 metres at the ISU world short track championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Sunday.

The Montreal native clocked one minute 25.534 seconds for his first victory in the event since the 2023 Four Continents short track championships in Laval, Que.

The 22-year-old jumped to the front of the pack at the beginning of Sunday's five-athlete race, setting a brisk pace.

While both South Korean skaters took the lead with just three laps to go, Hwang Dae-heon was penalized for holding off Park Ji-won in a manoeuvre that bumped both off course, opening the door for Dandjinou to regain the lead.

The Canadian skater finished the final laps at a furious pace and just edged ahead of silver medallist Pietro Sighel of Italy by 0.021 seconds.

WATCH | Dandjinou wins 1,000m gold:

Italian Luca Spechenhauser earned bronze with a time of 1:26.026.

Dandjinou was a star on the World Cup circuit this season. He collected gold medals in the 1,500 at stops in Montreal in October, Seoul, South Korea in December, and Dresden, Germany, in February, earning the 1,500 World Cup classification title.

American Kristen Santos-Griswold won the gold medal in at time of 1:42.717 in a chaotic women's 1,000 ahead of silver medallist Kim Gilli of South Korea (1:43.049) and bronze medallist Arianna Fontana of Italy (1:43.074).

WATCH | American Santos-Griswold takes 1,000m gold:

Canada's women's relay team took bronze in a chaotic 3,000 final that saw various competitors slip up and fall, with the team ultimately crossing the line in 4:12.675 to take third.

The Netherlands posted a 4:07.788 winning time while the U.S. claimed silver at 4:08.061.

WATCH | Canadian women win relay