Maltais, Hamelin, St-Gelais and Dion officially added to the short track team.

Text:Carl Savard Photos: Tony Chung (@SHORTTRACKHD) and Patrick Charbonneau and Canadian Olympic Team Press Website

It is with no surprise that Speed skating Canada announced today which four athletes will complete the 2017-2018 canadian team that will compete on the short track speed skating World cup circuit this fall and represent Canada at next winter’s Olympic games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

After Samuel Girard, Charles Hamelin and Charle Cournoyer on the men’s side and Kim Boutin, Jamie Macdonald and Kasandra Bradette on the women’s side all obtained their tickets for the big show by finishing in the top three at the competition held at the Maurice-Richard arena in Montreal two weeks ago, the selection committee still had work to do. They had to study Marianne St-Gelais, Valérie Maltais and François Hamelin’s request to be part of the team even though they couldn’t take part in the competition (St-Gelais) or could not complete it due to injuries (Maltais and F.Hamelin). The selection committee announced today in a press conference held at the Olympic stadium in Montreal that after discussion, the three veterans’ requests were officially granted.

Pascal Dion who finished fourth at the end of the selection process will also be part of the men’s team.

Important dates

The four legs of the World cup circuit will be held from September 28 to October 1st in Budapest, Hungary, from October 5 to 8 in Dordrecht, Netherlands, from November 9 to 12 in Shangaï, China and from November 16 to 19 in Seoul, South Korea.

The Olympic games will take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea from the 9th of February to the 25th and the World championships will be held at the Maurice-Richard arena in Montreal, Qc on March 16, 17 and 18.