Olympic viewing guide: Canada's short track stars hit the ice

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Powered by athletes from the short track hotbed of Quebec, Canada has consistently ranked among the very best countries in this chaotic sport, winning at least three medals and as many as six at every Winter Games since short track debuted in 1992 in Albertville, France.

In 2022 in Beijing, Canadian short trackers raced to four medals, trailing only perennial power South Korea, which had five. The highlight came when 37-year-old star Charles Hamelin helped his men's relay team to gold in his final Olympic race. That gave Hamelin six career medals, tying him with long track skater Cindy Klassen for the most ever by a Canadian in the Winter Games.

Hamelin retired a couple of months later, leaving the Canadian team without one of its all-time greats. And yet, over the last two years, Canada has blossomed into the No. 1 short track country in the world.

The rise to the top began on the 2024-25 World Tour, where Canada racked up 37 medals, including 21 golds, across the six stops to run away with the team Crystal Globe trophy. Then, at the season-ending world championships in Beijing, Canadians won an incredible six of the nine events (including a clean sweep of the men's golds) and grabbed four silvers for a total of 10 medals. No other country won multiple golds or finished with more than four medals overall.

This season, Canada solidified its dominance by sweeping the three World Tour Crystal Globes as Will Dandjinou repeated as men's overall champion, Courtney Sarault captured her first women's crown and Canada won its second straight team title. With the tour