Canadian short-track speedskater Pascal Dion won his first world championship gold medal and his decorated teammate Charles Hamelin capped his career with a relay bronze.
Montreal’s Dion won the men’s 3,000 metres on home ice at Maurice Richard Arena and then helped Hamelin and Canada take bronze in the 5,000-metre relay.
The relay was Hamelin’s swan song and his 38th world championship medal, of which 15 were gold.
The 37-year-old from Sainte-Julie, Que., had a storybook ending to his Olympic career when he, Dion, Steven Dubois and Jordan Pierre-Gilles won relay gold in Beijing in February.
Hamelin’s sixth medal, and fourth gold of his career, is the most by a Canadian male in Winter Games. He and hockey player Marie-Philip Poulin jointly carried Canada’s flag into Beijing’s opening ceremonies.
Dion edged June Seo Lee of South Korea in second and Dutchman Sjinkie Knegt in third in the 3k. It was the first world title for Dion after he took silver in Saturday’s 1,500 metres.
Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, Que., claimed her third, fourth and fifth silver medals in as many races placing second in Sunday’s 1,000, 3,000 metres and the women’s relay.
Boutin also took silver in Saturday’s 500 and 1,500 metres. The 27-year-old finished second to winner Minjeong Choi of South Korea in both individual distances Sunday.
Choi picked up another gold when the South Koreans won the relay ahead of Canada’s Boutin, Florence Brunelle, Alyson Charles and Courtney Sarault.
The International Skating Union postponed the world short track championship originally scheduled for March 18-20 in Montreal because of both COVID-19 travel restrictions and the war in Ukraine.
The ISU barred athletes from Russia and Belarus from competing in Montreal because of those countries’ roles in the invasion of Ukraine.
© 2022 The Canadian Press
