By Florence Gauthier
Photos by Patrick Charbonneau and Danny Kim (@dk_st)
After a 6-month break during the 2015-2016 season, Kim Boutin returned to short track speed skating at her own pace. At the end of the 2016-17 season, Kim was second overall in the women's national rankings, just behind veteran Marianne St-Gelais. In the final standings of the World Cups, she was third in the 1500m. She had won a gold medal at the World Cup in Dresden, Germany and a bronze medal at Gangneung in South Korea.
The 2017-2018 season was the one that showed that Kim Boutin had a place amongst the best short track speed skaters in the world. In the World Cups, she won 2 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze medals. Her most successful competition was in Shanghai, from November 9 to 12 2017, where she won her two gold medals in the 500m and 1000m distances.
A particularly lucrative period in terms of medals was at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games. After the disqualification of Korea's Choi Min-jeong in the 500m, Kim won the bronze medal. There followed a horde of hatred towards her on social media. This did not prevent Kim from getting her hands on medals with a silver medal in the 1000m and a bronze in the 1500m. The Olympic Games have allowed Kim to shine internationally.
After the Olympic Games, there was the World Championships in Montreal. With a bronze medal in the 1500m, a 5th place in the 500m and 3000m and a 9th place in the 1000m, Kim Boutin climbed to 7th place in the final rankings.
With all these results, it goes without saying that Boutin will now lead the new generation of women's short track speed skaters in Canada as veterans Marianne St-Gelais and Valérie Maltais have retired from short track. Therefore, we are asking ourselves: What does the season 2018-2019 holds for Kim Boutin? We can not wait to see her in action! And you, what do you think ?
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