Canadian speedskaters reach podium in Four Continents championships

SALT LAKE CITY – Steven Dubois, Courtney Sarault and Pascal Dion won medals for Canada on the second day of the ISU Four Continents Short Track Championships.

Dubois, of Lachenaie, Que., collected two medals on Friday, winning gold in the 500 metres and bronze in the 1,500 metres.

The 25-year old sprinted to a gold finish in the 500 metres in 40.316. He was joined on the podium by American Andrew Heo (40.687) and teammate Pascal Dion (41.482), who was elevated into a bronze-medal position after fellow Canadian Maxime Laoun was penalized in the final.

Dubois also reached the podium in the men’s 1,500 metres, moving from fifth position to third position in the final two laps, placing him behind Koreans Ji Won Park (2:16.409) and Kyung Hwan Hong (2:16.471).

Earlier in the day, Sarault claimed gold in the women’s 1,500 metres with a time of 2:25.614, coming out on top in a stacked final that also included teammates Claudia Gagnon and Ann-Sophie Bachand.

The Moncton native moved into the lead with five laps remaining and skated defensively to fend off fellow medal winners Kristen Santos-Griswold from the United States (2:25.708) and Minjeong Choi of Korea (2:25.737). Canadians Gagnon (2:26.223) and Bachand (2:28.044) finished fourth and seventh, respectively.

The ISU Four Continents Short Track Championships end on Saturday with medals to be awarded in the 1,000 metres and as both the women’s 3,000 metres and men’s 5,000-metre relays.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2022.