Canada’s St-Gelais earns third straight gold at short track World Cup

DORDRECHT, Netherlands – Marianne St-Gelais of Saint-Felicien, Que., earned the gold medal in the women’s 1,500-metre on Saturday at a ISU World Cup short track speed skating event.

It was St-Gelais’ third straight victory following two first-place finishes in Germany last week.

Skating in fifth position with two laps to go, St-Gelais gained ground on the pack and made her way up to the front. She finished ahead of China’s Yihan Guo and Dutch skater Suzanne Schulting, respectively. Audrey Phaneuf of Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., was sixth.

“I didn’t have strong legs like I did last week, so I knew I was going to have to overtake quickly and cleanly,” St-Gelais said. “I put everything into it. Even if I feel a bit tired, I was able to pick up speed.”

Jamie MacDonald of Fort St. James, B.C., earned bronze in the women’s 1,000 for her first medal at the senior level. Elise Christie of Great Britain won gold, followed by Minjeong Choi of South Korea.

“I think I’ve improved a great deal this year in my World Cups,” MacDonald said. “I just needed the experience and I’ve learned a lot in each of my races so far.”

Charle Cournoyer of Boucherville, Que., in the men’s 1,500m, and Patrick Duffy of Oakville, Ont., in the 1,000, both just missed a podium result by finishing fourth.