Canada’s Dubois wins short-track bronze at world junior championships

SOFIA, Bulgaria – Canada’s Steven Dubois edged teammate Maxime Laoun to win bronze in the men’s 500 metres at the ISU world junior short-track championships on Saturday.

China’s Hongzhi Xu won gold in 41.558 seconds and Hungary’s Shaoang Liu took the silver in 41.594. Dubois, from Lachenaie, Que., was third in 41.719 seconds and Laoun, from Montreal, was right behind him in 41.781.

“This is incredible, I couldn’t be happier,” said Dubois, who made his world junior debut. “In the final, I wanted to protect my third position. I wanted to try overtaking the Chinese skater but with one lap and a half to go, the race slowed down. I also saw Maxime behind me and that’s when I decided to stay in third place.”

The competition continues Sunday.