Felix Roussel, Steven Dubois, Mathieu Pelletier and Maxime Laoun won gold in the men’s 5,000-metre relay as Canada closed the ISU Short Track World Tour weekend in Montreal with nine medals.
The Story
Canada wrapped up the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Montreal with nine medals, capping the weekend Sunday afternoon in front of more than 3,000 fans at the end of the men’s 5,000-metre relay.
Felix Roussel of Sherbrooke, Que., teamed with Steven Dubois of Lachenaie, Que., Mathieu Pelletier of Laval, Que., and Maxime Laoun of Montreal, Que., to take first in the 48-lap race with a time of 6:59.327. The Netherlands finished second in 7:01.305 and South Korea earned bronze in 7:06.217.
Roussel said the sellout atmosphere helped motivate the team after they executed their race plan and built position, with Dubois making key passes during the final.
Earlier on Sunday, Roussel also reached the podium in the 2,000-metre mixed relay with Laoun, Courtney Sarault of Moncton, N.B., and Danaé Blais of Châteauguay, Que. The group won silver in 2:37.373, behind the Netherlands (2:37.131) and ahead of China (2:37.585).
Blais then won a medal in the women’s 500 metres, moving to the front after an explosive start and overtaking Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands in the A Final. Velzeboer caught her on the final lap to claim gold in 42.066, with Blais second at 42.195 and Sarault third at 42.332. Florence Brunelle of Trois-Rivières, Que., placed fourth at 42.506.
Pelletier, meanwhile, earned his first individual distance medal on the World Tour with silver in the 1,000 metres. Jens van ’t Wout of the Netherlands won gold in 1:26.706, and Michal Niewinski of Poland finished third in 1:26.860.
After the Montreal stop, the Ice Maples are first in the ISU Team Crystal Globe rankings with 1,836 points, ahead of the Korean White Tigers (1,754 points) and the Dutch Lions (1,556 points). Sarault is the top-ranked female skater with 304 points, while Roussel is second on the men’s side with 254 points.
The ISU Short Track World Tour returns in a few weeks with three consecutive stops in Asia: Seoul from Nov. 20 to 22, Shanghai from Nov. 27 to 29, and Beijing from Dec. 4 to 6.
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