BEIJING - Jordan Pierre-Gilles won gold and William Dandjinou claimed bronze as Canada enjoyed a two-medal day at the short track speedskating World Cup stop in Beijing on Saturday.
Pierre-Gilles, of Sherbrooke, Que., won the men's 500 metres in a time of 40.711 seconds, beating Quentin Fercoq of France (40.875) and Jens van 't Wout of the Netherlands (41.280).
The ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥ trailed Liu Shaoang and Lin Xiaoju for most of the race but sailed to the front of the pack after the Chinese skaters collided.
“It was an exciting race today. A lot of people were surprised to see the Chinese skater challenging his teammate, but I kind of saw it coming and even told my coach about it before the race. My strategy was adapted a bit with this in mind. Obviously, their collision made my pass to the front easier and after that it was all but over," said Pierre-Gilles
Montreal's Dandjinou finished third in the men's 1,500 with a time of two minutes 19.179 seconds.
Korea's Kim Gun Woo won gold (2:18.934), ahead silver medallist Wenlong LI of China (2:19.009)
"I stumbled a bit during a pass and got cut off mid-stride. Despite all of that, I still managed to win the bronze. I’m proud of myself and I hope I can do even better tomorrow," said Dandjinou.
A pair of ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥ women also earned top-10 finishes on Saturday. Renée Steenge, of Brampton, Ont., finished fifth in the 1,500, while Florence Brunelle, of Trois-Rivières, Que., was ninth in the 500.
The short track World Cup continues Sunday in Beijing.
This report by ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥was first published Dec. 9, 2023.
