Weekend recap: Canada's winter athletes shine

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A pair of short track world titles, a perfect curling start and a ski cross podium sweep highlighted some stellar performances by Canadians this weekend. Here's a recap:

Two short track speed skaters won their first world title.

Kim Boutin is one of the most decorated skaters in Canadian history. Entering last week's world championships in the Netherlands, the 29-year-old from Sherbrooke, Que., had won 13 medals at the worlds, four at the Olympics and dozens more on the World Cup circuit.

But she'd never captured a major-championship title, and it didn't seem like this would be her year either. Boutin skipped the first four World Cup stops of the season to focus on her studies and managed just one individual medal (a bronze) over the final two meets.

On Saturday, Boutin surprised even herself by leading the women's 500m final wire to wire to take gold at the worlds. "I didn't expect to win… after taking time off this season," she said. "For me, this was a huge bonus.'

On Sunday, William Dandjinou won his first world title in dramatic fashion. The rising star from Montreal took over the lead in the men's 1,000m when the two Korean front-runners collided with three laps to go. Dandjinou then held off Italy's Pietro Sighel in a photo finish.

The gold is Dandjinou's first medal of any kind at the world championships. It capped a breakthrough season that saw the 22-year-old top the World Cup 1,500m standings and place third in the overall chase despite missing the final meet due to an injury.

Canada also picked up a pair of bronze medals over the weekend: one from men's