Canadian women win relay gold, Laoun takes 500m silver at short track World Tour opener
asserted
Laoun → win → opener
Canada wins race in Vancouver after crash between first- and second-place teams
The Canadian quartet of Florence Brunelle, Courtney Sarault, Claudia Gagnon and Dana�é Blais captured gold in a chaotic women's 3,000-metre relay final at the ISU Short Track World Tour opener in Vancouver on Saturday night.
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quartet → win → night
Canada was sitting third in a tight race behind Italy and the Netherlands when the top two teams collided on the final corner, leaving anchor Brunelle to cross the line first.
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teams → sit → line
Canada won in four minutes 13.609 seconds, beating second-place South Korea by 0.272 seconds.
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Canada → win → seconds
Italy's Elisa Confortola was penalized for an arm block that took down Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer, who took Confortola out with her as she fell.
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she → penalize → her
The Netherlands still finished third.
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Netherlands → finish → ?
It's incredible," Sarault told CBC Sports' Devin Heroux.
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Sarault → tell → Heroux
"It was definitely a tough race, and we had to adapt a lot and kind of find chances to choose when to go.
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we → have → chances
I think that we executed it perfectly and we were able to secure the gold."
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we → think → gold
Canada's relay team was without six-time Olympic medallist Kim Boutin, who helped the squad earn bronze at the Milano Cortina Olympics before retiring after the world championships in Montreal in March.
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squad → help → March
Canada reached the final after finishing second behind South Korea in its semifinal heat, with Ann-Sophie Bachand skating in place of Blais.
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Bachand → reach → Blais
Bachand also received a gold medal.
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Bachand → receive → medal
The medal race featured the same four teams as the 2026 Olympic final, which South Korea won ahead of Italy.
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Korea → feature → Italy
The relay gold was Canada's second medal on the first day of finals at the Pacific Coliseum, as international short track returned to Vancouver for the first time since the 2010 Olympics.
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track → return → Olympics
Saturday's session drew 3,492 fans.
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session → draw → fans
Maxime Laoun delivered Canada's first medal of the day with silver in the men's 500m.
The two-time Olympian from Montreal finished 0.174 seconds behind Dutch skater Jens van 't Wout (40.551), with Turkey's Furkan Akar taking bronze in 41.334 after South Korea's Lee Jeong-min was penalized.
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min → deliver → 41.334
Reigning world and Olympic 500m champion Steven Dubois of Lachenaie, Que., crashed on the final corner and finished fourth.
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Dubois → reign → corner
Laoun led for the first three laps ahead of Dubois and Van 't Wout, but the Canadians were unable to fend off the Dutchman, who made a series of passes in the fourth lap to take the lead.
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who → lead → lead
"I've dealt with a lot of injuries," Laoun said, adding that he often couldn't do what he wanted on the ice.
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he → deal → ice
I feel great today."
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I → feel → ?
Laoun, 30, said the silver carried extra meaning, coming a day after what would have been his late grandfather's birthday.
"My grandpa died a couple years ago.
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grandpa → say → meaning
His birthday was yesterday, and I had a picture that popped up into my memories where I was holding a gold medal and he was smiling," Laoun said in a Speed Skating Canada release.
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Laoun → have → release
He said his father told him that meant his grandfather wanted a medal, "so go get it."
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grandfather → say → it
Earlier Saturday, Sarault, the defending women's overall Crystal Globe champion, salvaged valuable World Tour points by winning the women's 1,000m B final, clocking 1:33.415 after leading from start to finish.
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Sarault → defend → finish
She beat South Korea's Shim Suk-hee, Confortola and Poland's Gabriela Topolska.
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She → beat → hee
Sarault, from Moncton, N.B., missed the medal race after finishing third in her semifinal.
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Sarault → miss → semifinal
South Korea's Choi Min-jeong won the A final in 1:32.954, ahead of Velzeboer (1:33.074) and Italy's Gloria Ioriatti (1:33.216).
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jeong → win → Velzeboer
Sarault won Olympic silver in the distance as part of a four-medal haul at the Milano Cortina Games.
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Sarault → win → Games
Van 't Wout completed a double by winning the men's 1,500m in 2:20.025.
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Wout → complete → 2:20.025
The Dutch skater sat as low as seventh early before making his move in the closing laps, passing on the inside of Canada's Félix Roussel and Italy's Thomas Nadalini before edging South Korea's Rim Jongun by 0.057 seconds.
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skater → sit → seconds
Japan's Shogo Miyata took bronze in 2:20.188.
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Miyata → take → 2:20.188
Roussel, the national champion, had been second behind Nadalini for much of the race and finished fifth, 0.355 seconds off the podium.
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Roussel → finish → podium
The Sherbrooke, Que., native had posted the second-fastest semifinal time behind Van 't Wout.
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native → post → Wout
Roussel later helped Canada advance to Sunday's final in the men's 5,000m relay alongside Dubois, Laoun and Mathieu Pelletier.
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Canada → help → Dubois
The Canadians placed second behind South Korea in their semifinal heat.
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Canadians → place → heat
Roussel narrowly avoided disaster, staying on his feet after nearly going down.
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Roussel → avoid → feet
Japan and China also qualified for the final.
Missing from the Canadian team was two-time reigning men's overall Crystal Globe champion William Dandjinou.
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Dandjinou → qualify → team
The 25-year-old from Montreal is skipping the stops in Vancouver and his hometown as part of a revamped training plan after the Olympics.
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old → skip → Olympics
He competed instead at last week's Canadian long track championships in Calgary, where he placed ninth in the 1,500m, and is expected to return to the World Tour in Seoul on Nov. 20-22.
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he → compete → Nov.
Dandjinou helped Canada win the World Tour's team Crystal Globe for the second straight time last season.
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Canada → help → time
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
