An hour after his victory in the 1000 m, William Dandjinou won another gold medal in the men’s relay on Sunday, at the conclusion of the second stage of the World Short Track Speed Skating Circuit at the Maurice Arena. Richard, in Montreal. Canada also won the mixed relay earlier in the day.
Dandjinou, on his penultimate pass on the track, accelerated the pace of the relay. His pass gave Canada a comfortable lead. The last torchbearer, Steven Dubois, was never worried until the finish line.
The Canadians won in 6 min 41 sec 532/1000, half a second ahead of their closest pursuers, the South Koreans (6:42.045). The Italians (6:42.442) finished 3rd.
I am very satisfied with our team, said Dandjinou. We are solid, we trust each other. It leads to results.
This victory in the men’s relay brings the country’s medal total to 14 since the start of the new season and allows it to increase its lead to 528 points over South Korea at the top of the standings for the crystal globe. He now has 3106 points, compared to 2578 for his eternal rival.
It’s another dream weekend, but it’s a nightmare for the other teams. We are extremely happy, extremely proud, but we have to get back to work because we will have a target on our backs for the rest of the season.
Imperial Danjinou
Of these 14 medals, 5 were won by William Dandjinou in six individual events. On Sunday, he won the only event in which he had not yet been on the podium this season.
Dandjinou won gold in the 1000m by leading almost the entire race. He held off a push from South Korean Jang Sung-woo on the final lap to win in 1:24.863.
The other Canadian in this final, Jordan Pierre-Gilles (1:25.072), finished 3rd and obtained his first individual medal this season.
I’m extremely happy,” said Jordan Pierre-Gilles. It’s not my specialty, but I worked very hard this summer to make gains in training for the 1000m. It’s rewarding, it gives me confidence.
It’s still the start of the season. I haven’t yet had a podium in the 500m, the distance where I finished in 1st position last year. That’s my next goal.
For Dandjinou, 1000m World Cup champion last year, this victory feels good after his misadventure last week. At the launch of the World Tour, also in Montreal, he fell alone in the semi-finals.
This is the race I most wanted to win this weekend.
The 23-year-old skater has just had an almost perfect weekend with four medals, including three gold. On Saturday, he won the 1500m and finished 2nd in the 500m.
Last weekend, he also won three gold medals: in the 500m, the 1500m and the men’s relay.
Dandjinou consolidated his lead in the race for the individual crystal globe. With 500 points, he is well ahead of the Italian Pietro Sighel (328), in 2nd position.
The field is very competitive this season, said a very humble Dandjinou. I feel lucky to have these results. It’s not perfect either, I made a few mistakes. We will analyze the videos. I also have good teammates who help me work on my weaknesses every day.
Canadian mixed relay gold
Earlier in the day, Canada dominated the mixed relay in 2:37.684. The quartet of Kim Boutin, Florence Brunelle, Félix Roussel and Steven Dubois beat the Dutch team (2:37.960). Japan (2:40.162) took third place on the podium.
We had a plan. We executed it perfectly. We knew that the Dutch were going to leave quickly. We knew we could move forward, but that wasn’t our goal. We used some of our good exchanges, as we are capable of doing, to take the lead. We really executed the plan to perfection and managed to come out of here with a gold medal
explained Steven Dubois.
Last week, the mixed relay won bronze despite a fall in the final.
Kim Boutin also participated in the 1500m final and finished 5th. She has not won a medal in this event since the 2019-2020 season. She plans to give up her place to a teammate for this event contested just before the 500m according to the new format of the competition.
I really lacked explosiveness
she said.
In the 500m, Boutin could not do better than the B final, like her compatriot Rikki Doak.
Individually, we all have little things to work on to get to the top of our game. There were some very good races, we were perhaps missing a few laps, but it’s something that we will gain with experience. It’s a question of time
added Boutin.
The next stop on the World Tour will take place in Beijing, China, from December 6-8.
With information from The Canadian Press
