Jordan Pierre-Gilles and Danaé Blais, for their part, won silver medals, so that the Canadians totaled five medals to strengthen their hold on first place in the ranking of the new crystal globe by teams.
Dubois won the 500 meter event in 41.681 seconds. He was a few centimeters ahead of his compatriot Pierre-Gilles, who himself stretched his leg to finish ahead of Latvian Roberts Kruzbergs.
“I am really very happy with my performance today,” commented Pierre-Gilles, according to a press release from Speed Skating Canada. It feels good to be back on the podium, especially with Steven. It’s incredible to share a podium with a teammate who is also a friend. I’m also happy with how I was able to do that.”
Dandjinou added another victory to his excellent season by winning the 1500m in 2:14.313. Dubois crossed the finish line in second position, but was penalized due to an overtaking maneuver.
South Korean Park Jiwon and Dutchman Jens van t’Wout completed the top-3. Dandjinou thus retains first place in the general ranking for the men’s crystal globe with 812 points, which gives him a lead of 286 points over Park Jiwon.
In the women’s relay, Florence Brunelle, Courtney Sarault, Kim Boutin and Blais beat the Italians and the South Koreans.
For Blais, it was a second medal in this day of competition, since she took second position in the 1000 m. Blais, who won this event last week in China to claim her first individual gold medal on the circuit, was beaten by South Korean Kim Gilli.
“It was an incredible day! exclaimed Blais. I skated with confidence. Winning in Beijing last week really put me in a good frame of mind. Now I have the certainty that I can win races.
“It’s one thing to win a medal, but it’s another game to be able to repeat the feat. It’s not a gold medal today, but for me, it’s still an incredible performance, silver. And obviously, winning gold with the girls in the relay is super special.”
Activities will resume on Sunday in Seoul with the mixed relay, the 1500m and 500m for women, as well as the 1000m and the relay for men.
