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Canadian short track speed skater Will Dandjinou continued to dominate the men’s World Tour circuit on Saturday in Gdansk, Poland.
The Montreal skater won both the men’s 1,500 and 500 metre finals to lead a four-medal day for the Canadian Ice Maples at the Hala Olivia Arena. Dandjinou’s teammates Courtney Sarault and Steven Dubois won silver and bronze, respectively.
Dandjinou, 24, crossed the line in the men’s 1,500m final in two minutes, 24.153 seconds, ahead of Italians Thomas Nadalini (2:24.215) and Pietro Sighel (2:24.288).
Dubois, of Terrebonne, Que., finished sixth in the eight-skater final, stopping the clock in 2:24.834.
“It feels great, it’s always hard to envision how these things are going to go, and I feel like I’ve been doing great this season,” Dandjinou said after winning the 1,500 final. “With this ice, it’s super challenging, so being able to perform with different types of conditions and ice is always good.”
Canada’s William Dandjinou won the gold in the men’s 1,500m final at the World Tour in Gdansk, Poland.
The conditions did nothing to slow him down in the men’s 500m final, as Dandjinou once again dominated, skating to gold in 40.849 seconds. China’s Xiaojun Lin (41.120) took silver, while Dubois claimed bronze in 41.505.
“It’s special for sure, especially with Steven [Dubois on the podium],” Dandjinou said after winning the 500. “We showed great team chemistry and we always want to get three guys on the podium.
“I think Félix [Roussel] was super close and going so far was very impressive and hope we get to see him [on the podium] again next week.”
William Dandjinou strikes gold again in men’s 500m final, with teammate Steven Dubois taking bronze at World Tour in Gdansk, Poland.
The wins mark the fourth and fifth gold medals won by Dandjinou this season. After winning the men’s overall title last season, he has collected 642 points from races this season and is running away in the race for this year’s title.
Dandjinou has a 210 point lead over Sighel, his next-closest competitor, while Dubois is 10 points back of the Italian to sit in third place.
Sarault takes silver
In the women’s 1,000m final, Sarault took silver in 1:30.575. Hanna Desmet of Belgium won gold in 1:30.422, while American Corrine Stoddard skated to bronze in 1:30.589.
Florence Brunelle, of Trois-Rivières, Que., was fourth, crossing the line in 1:30.716.
Sarault, of Moncton, N.B., leads the overall standings with 570 points, while Stoddard sits in second place with 480 points.
Canada’s Courtney Sarault skates to silver in women’s 1,000m final at the World Tour in Gdansk, Poland.
Live coverage of the Gdansk event continues on Sunday at 8:05 a.m. ET, which will live stream on CBCSports.ca and on CBC Gem. Check the CBC Sports broadcast schedule for more details on how to watch short track events this season.