Dresden Day 3: Canada captures double gold on 500m

Canada had a good day at work in Germany on the final day of competition of the fifth leg of the World Cup season in short track speed skating. 

By Carl Savard

Photo by Martin Holtom

Boutin once again

Kim Boutin's season in the 500m is so far perfect. In addition to having lowered the world record last fall, the Sherbrooke native won her fifth gold medal over the distance in as many visits to the grand final this season. China's Qu Chunyu took the silver medal, while the reigning world champion on the distance, Netherlands' Lara van Ruijven, won the bronze medal. 

On the men's side, Canada's Cedrik Blais managed to qualify for the grand final with an excellent performance in the semifinal eliminating even world record holder Wu Dajing. However, it was his teammate Steven Dubois who had the upper hand in the grand final, winning the event ahead of Hungary's Liu Shaolin Sandor and the young Dutchman Melle van 'T Wout.  Constantly progressing over the last decade, the Dutch team's next wave of athletes showed great things this weekend in Germany. 

Some movement in the World cup rankings on 1500m
On 1500m, Suzanne Schulting won a somewhat messy final to win gold in her favourite distance. This victory combined with the 6th place of China's Han Yu Tong allowed Schulting to move up to the top of the World Cup rankings, a few dozen points ahead of the Chinese. Russia's Sofia Prosvirnova (silver) and France's Tifany Huot Marchand (bronze) accompanied Schulting on the podium. Canada's Danaé Blais won the B final. 


On the men's side, as it was the case for the women, a victory combined with a counter performance changed the season rankings with one competition to go. Korea's Park Ji Won is now in the lead following his victory while his teammate Lee June Seo slides to second place following a penalty in today's grand final. China's An Kai who was ranked 2nd in the standings and who had qualified for both 1500m heats this weekend slipped to 3rd place following his elimination in the semifinals today. Russia's Semen Elistratov (silver) and Hungary's John Henry Krueger (bronze) completed the podium in today's event.

Netherlands and Korea breath a sigh of relief in the relays

On the relay, the Dutch ladies won their first World Cup gold medal of the season, finishing ahead of the Chinese, who currently lead the overall standings. The bronze medal went to the Japanese. On the men's side, the Koreans won their first gold medal of the season on the circuit, having finished second three times and third on one occasion. The Russians finished second today and are still leading the season standings with one competition to go. The Dutch won bronze today, their best result of the season. 

For full results click HERE

For Day 2 recap click HERE

For Day 1 recap click HERE

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