Canadian Junior Short Track Championships: Claudia Heeney and Nicolas Perreault big winners

The Canadian Junior Short Track Championships were held in Calgary from December 15th to the 17th. Here's our recap.

By Florence Gauthier

Photo by Bill Christ

A total of 64 skaters faced each other, including 51 Quebecers, with the top 4 men and the 3 best women aged 14 to 19 qualifying for the ISU Junior Short Track World Championships. Thanks to her international results at the senior level, Courtney Sarault was pre-qualified and that's why only three spots were available for the women. The skaters competed in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m. The two best results out of the three distances raced by each skater were added together to determine the final standings.

Claudia Heeney in full control

On the women's side, Ontario's Claudia Heeney won gold in the 500m and 1000m and finished third in the 1500m. With her two best results, she finished first in the final standings. Right after her, was Hee Won Son from Alberta. The skater won silver in the 500m and bronze on 1000m. In the 1500m, she finished 4th. Juliette Brindamour from Quebec finished in the top 3 in the final standings because of her first place in the 1500m. In the A final of the 1000m, she finished 5th following a fall. She was able to finish in 3rd place thanks to the calculation of the two best results only. Overall, she was behind Kélian Quevillon since she finished 20th in the 500m.

Nicolas Perreault stands out

Despite a 20th place in the 500m, Nicolas Perrault of Quebec won the honors by winning gold in the 1500m. In the A final of the 1000m, Perreault made a great pass and led the last two laps to finish first. William Dandjinou of Quebec finished 2nd in the final standings. He won gold in the 500m and silver in the 1500m. Although he fell in the 1500m finishing 6th, Matej Pederson of Alberta recovered and walked away with the silver in the 500m and 1000m, which took him to 3rd place in the final standings. The fourth place is disputed between Felix Pigeon and Felix Roussel, both from Quebec. Pigeon's top two finishes are 3rd in the 500m and 4th in the 1000m. Roussel climbed on the third step of the podium in the 1500m and finished in fourth place in the 500m.

The official anouncement of who will represent Canada at the ISU World Junior Short Track Championships will be made soon. The competition will take place from January 25 to 27, 2019 in Montreal, Canada.

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