Canada takes Day 3 in Nagoya

If Day 2 was marked by the Korean domination, Canada got our attention in Day 3 as the curtain falls on the third leg of the World cup season in short track speed skating. 

By Carl Savard

Photos by Tony Chung (@SHORTTRACKHD)

1500m(2): Sarault on the podium - Blais in the main final once again 

It was Courtney Sarault’s turn today to offer Canada a medal on 1500m after Kim Boutin did it on Saturday. A well raced final for the 19-year-old from Moncton, who finished second behind Dutch superstar Suzanne Schulting. China’s Han Yu Tong finished third to win the bronze. Sarault’s teammate Danaé Blais finished in fourth place. It was her second 1500m main final of the weekend. Blais is presently ranked sixth on the distance halfway through this World cup season. On the men’s side, Park Ji Won goes home with the gold while his Korean teammate Lee June Seo wins the silver medal. Ibuki Hayashi was the Japanese hero today offering his fan a bronze medal in the 1500m.

500m: Boutin and Liu in gold

Who better to offer Canada a gold medal in Nagoya than world record holder on 500m Kim Boutin. The 24-year-old led from start to finish to win her sixth medal in six final this season. Arianna Fontana won the silver medal while Korea’s Kim Ji Yoo got the bronze. The actual leader in this World cup season on 500m, Italy’s Martina Valcepina, finished first of the B final while Canada’s Rikki Doak finished seventh overall on the distance. For the men, Hungary’s Liu Shaoang leaves Japan with a gold medal. He was joined  on the podium by Russia’s Pavel Sitnikov and Korea’s Park In Wook. The best Canadian performance on the men’s side went to Jordan Pierre-Gilles who finished seventh overall on 500m after finishing eighth overal yesterday on 1000m. Great results for the newcomer who was competing in his first World cup event in career. 

Relay: A silver medal for the Canadian ladies

Another medal was added to the Canadian loot as the women’s relay team was able to win the silver medal finishing second behind Italy. Korea had originally won the race but was penalized after review. The American team was also penalized while the Russian won the bronze. On the men’s side of the competition, China, Korea and Russia finished in that order. Russia sits presently in first place of the season ranking in the men’s relay.

Athletes are now travelling to Shanghai for the fourth leg of the 2019-2020 World cup season that will be held next weekend.

For Day 1 recap it’s HERE

For Day 2 recap it’s HERE
For full results it’s HERE

Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter, follow our Facebook page, our Instagram account and our Twitter account for daily news and results about speed skating.