DORDRECHT, Netherlands — Short-track stars Kim Boutin and Steven Dubois both struck gold as Canada hauled in four medals at a World Cup speedskating event in the Netherlands on Saturday.
Boutin, a four-time Olympic medalist, won gold in the women's 1,000 metres with a time of one minute and 29.807 seconds, edging Kristen Santo-Griswold of the United States, who finished in a time of 1:29.864.
Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer placed third at 1:29.968, just ahead of Canadian Danae Blais (1:30.668).
It was Boutin's first medal of the season in the 1,000.
"I am very proud of my race, because I was going for the gold. I knew that Xandra would probably pull from the front for the whole race, so I wanted to find myself in a good position to practice a pass on her," said Boutin. "I left some distance between us to give myself enough space to try a pass. I am very proud to have been aggressive and successful in my execution. Another tool in my toolkit."
Dubois, who led Canada's short-track team at the 2022 Beijing Games with a three-medal performance, won the men's 1,000 in 1:24.532. Teammate Pascal Dion claimed silver in 1:24.659, just ahead of Latvia's Roberts Kruzbergs who crossed in a time of 1:24.682.
"Since I was last on the start line, I knew that I would need to be aggressive in the first laps to make my way up the pack," Dubois said. "When I found myself in second place behind Pascal, I decided to let him work a bit out front and then make a pass for the best chance to win. It was a very difficult race that I managed extremely well, so I am happy to win my first gold medal in the 1,000 this way."
Canada won its fourth medal of the day in the 2,000 mixed relay where the team of William Dandjinou, Rikki Doak, Jordan Pierre-Gilles and Courtney Sarault nabbed silver in 2:38.898.
The Netherlands won the relay gold in 2:38.811, while Poland settled for bronze with a time of 2:39.858.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2023.
The Canadian Press
