St-Gelais, Girard, win golds as Canada nets five medals at speedskating World Cup
DORDRECHT, Netherlands — Marianne St-Gelais and Samuel Girard each won gold in their 500-metre events as Canada won five medals on Saturday at a short-track speedskating World Cup.
Kim Boutin took home silver in the 500 metres, while Valerie Maltais earned silver and Charles Hamelin, bronze, in their 1,500-metre events.
In the women’s 500, St-Gelais from Saint-Felicien, Que., and Boutin from Sherbrooke, Que., respectively took first and second place, as they had in the semifinals. Italy’s Martina Valcepina was third.
“I felt good, and I’ve felt good ever since qualifying started on Thursday,” said St-Gelais, who earned her first podium finish this season in an individual event, after skating only in one event last week in Hungary during the first stage of the World Cup. “After missing the Olympic trials, the last few weeks were hard on me physically and mentally, but we also made some important decisions, so this medal feels good because it shows that we made the right decisions and that we made the right adjustments.”