Weekend Roundup: Short trackers strike gold six times in Montreal, Team Homan wins Pan Continental gold
Team Canada hit the ice in a big way this past weekend.
At the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Montreal, Canadian athletes thrilled the home crowd with an impressive haul of six gold, one silver, and one bronze, proving once again that they’re a force to be reckoned with in this pre-Olympic season.
But it wasn’t just the speed skaters taking the spotlight! Team Homan won gold in their debut at the Pan Continental Curling Championship. Here’s everything you need to know to stay in the loop:
Short Track Speed Skating: Canada golden across all relays
William Dandjinou continues to lead the race for the Crystal Globe after adding three more individual medals to his season total at the second straight ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Montreal. Dandjinou won his second straight 1500m gold to go with gold in the 1000m and a silver in the 500m. He was part of two double podiums, as Steven Dubois upgraded his hardware to gold in the 500m final, while in the 1000m, Jordan Pierre-Gilles secured bronze.
READ: Short track: Canada adds three gold medals on final day of Montreal World Cup
Canada was golden in all three relay events. On Saturday, Danaé Blais, Kim Boutin, Florence Brunelle and Rikki Doak teamed up to claim gold in the women’s 3000m relay. On Sunday, the 2000m mixed relay squad of Boutin, Brunelle, Dubois, and Félix Roussel captured a long awaited gold medal. It is just Canada’s second ever victory in the event that became part of the top international circuit six seasons ago. The day was bookended by Dandjinou, Pierre-Gilles, Dubois, and Roussel joining forces to win a second straight gold in the men’s 5000m relay.
The Canadians conclude two weekends of competition in Montreal with 14 medals, including 9 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze. The ISU Short Track World Tour will resume in December with stops in Beijing (December 6-8) and Seoul (December 13-15).
Curling: Dramatic conclusion to golden run for Team Homan
In their first appearance at the Pan Continental Curling Championships, the team of Rachel Homan, Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes stole a point in the 10th end to win the gold medal game 6-5 versus South Korea.
The reigning world champs played a back-and-forth match, trading points before equalizing the score in the ninth with a double for one, and then winning it in the 10th end. The last point came down to a measurement as the Korean team made a hit attempt on the Canadian shot stone but couldn’t push it far enough, giving Team Homan the steal.
“We knew it would take 10 ends to beat them and we got a couple mistakes from them late and could capitalize on that,” Homan told Curling Canada. “It was a great game by them and it took us every shot to steal the win.”
Canada had gone a perfect a 7-0 in round robin play, including an 8-2 win versus South Korea. They got into the final with a 6-5 win over China in the semifinals.
In the men’s competition, Team Gushue had also posted a perfect 7-0 record throughout the preliminary round. But then then lost two straight, dropping the semifinal 8-4 to Japan and the bronze medal game 10-8 to the United States.
The Pan Continental Curling Championships served as the world championship qualifier for non-European countries.
Swimming: Harvey & Wilm win five World Cup medals in Singapore
The 2024 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup came to a close this weekend at the third stop in Singapore, the site of next summer’s World Aquatics Championships. Mary-Sophie Harvey swam away with three silver medals from the women’s 400m freestyle, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley events. Ingrid Wilm earned two bronze medals from the women’s 50m and 100m backstroke events.
The World Cup is a short course competition, held in a 25-metre pool (in contrast to Olympic events which are held in a 50-metre pool). Harvey and Wilm are among the 18 Canadians set to compete at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in December. It will be a squad of decorated Olympians that also includes Summer McIntosh, Kylie Masse, and Penny Oleksiak.
Figure Skating: Two top seven finishes at Grand Prix de France
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud headlined the Canadian results at the third stop of the ISU Grand Prix Series, the Grand Prix de France. After being ranked third in the pairs short program, they ended up in fifth place overall following two falls in their free skate. They have one more Grand Prix event this fall, the Cup of China in late November.
In ice dance, Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac took seventh place, dropping down the standings in the free dance after ranking fifth in the rhythm dance.