Canadians win gold, bronze medals at short track World Cup event in Beijing
CBC
Canada's short track speed skating team claimed two medals at a World Cup stop in Beijing on Saturday.
Jordan-Pierre Gilles won the men's 500-metre final, while William Dandjinou was third in the men's 1,500m.
Gilles, from Sherbrooke, Que., finished in 40.711 seconds, taking advantage of a collision between Liu Shaoang and Lin Xiaojun. The Canadian passed the Chinese duo after they got tangled up during the third lap to move into the top spot and cruise to victory.
"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," Gilles said in a release. "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."
WATCH | Gilles takes gold-medal win in Beijing:
Saturday's gold was the 25-year-old's third career World Cup individual medal, as Gilles also won 500m gold in Montreal this past October.
Quentin Fercoq of France (40.875) took silver while Dutch skater Jens van 't Wout (41.280) rounded out the podium in bronze-medal position.
WATCH | Dandjinou skates to World Cup bronze:
Montreal's Dandjinou crossed the line in his final in 2:19.179, just behind winner Kim Gun Woo of South Korea (2:18.934) and silver medallist Li Wenlong of China (2:19.009).
"I'm very happy with my day and what it means for the season," Dandjinou said. "I'm trying to gain points for the Crystal Globe and had some good races, but I didn't perform as well as I thought I could have during the final.
"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."
Dandjinou's bronze comes on the heels of last month's gold-medal win in the 1,000 at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Championships in Laval, Que.
