Canada's (very tall) short track star could own the world championships
Social Sharing
What a week to be a speed skating fan!
The world single-distances championships for long track skaters began today in Norway, where the Canadian trio of Brooklyn McDougall, Béatrice Lamarche and Ivanie Blondin took silver in the women's team sprint.
Canada finished sixth in the men's team sprint. At last year's world championships in Calgary, Canada won gold in both events en route to capturing a national-record 10 medals.
Blondin also placed eighth in the women's 3,000 metres today, right behind Canadians Valerie Maltais and Isabelle Weidemann, who were sixth and seventh. Canada's Ted-Jan Bloemen and Graeme Fish were seventh and 13th, respectively, in the men's 5,000m.
Meanwhile, the best short track skaters are in Beijing for their world championships, which start Friday with qualifying rounds for the medal races on Saturday and Sunday. Canadians will be in contention for plenty of hardware after racking up a total of 37 medals across the six World Tour stops this season, including 21 gold, to give Canada a comfortable victory over the Netherlands and Italy for the team championship.
WATCH | Canada claims women's team sprint silver:
Canadian women capture team sprint silver at speed skating worlds
56 minutes ago
Duration 3:08
The top Canadian to watch is Will Dandjinou, who's poised to be a big star at next year's Winter Olympics in Italy after missing the cut for the 2022 Games. Unusually tall for a short-tracker, the 23-year-old from Sherbrooke, Que., stands 6-foot-3 without skates, stretching far beyond the 5-foot-9 frame he figures is ideal for his sport. "There's no blueprint for us tall guys," Dandjinou said in a recent interview.
But he's clearly made his relative lankiness work for him. Dandjinou won gold in the 1,000m at last year's world championships, and this season he's been the most dominant short-tracker on the planet, winning a global-high eight individual races on the World Tour to capture his first men's overall championship along with the 1,000m and 1,500m titles. Dandjinou also helped Canada to the men's relay title and finished second in the 500m to his teammate Steven Dubois, giving Canada a clean sweep of the five men's World Tour crystal globes. Here's more on Dandjinou's rise from CBC Sports' Devin Heroux.
Dubois is another guy to watch this week in Beijing. He captured a complete set of Olympic medals — gold in the relay, silver in the 1,500 and bronze in the 1,000 — on this same ice surface at the 2022 Winter Games. The 27-year-old has yet to win a world title, but he earned a pair of individual medals at the 2023 worlds in the short-track hotbed of Seoul before missing the podium last year in the Netherlands.
On the women's side, Canada will look to upgrade its relay bronze from last year's worlds after tying Italy for top spot in the World Tour standings. The top Canadians in the women's overall chase were Danae Blais and Florence Brunelle, who placed seventh and eighth. Blais finished third in the 1,000m standings while Brunelle was third in the 500m.
Four-time Olympic individual medallist Kim Boutin, who won her first world title last year in the 500m, finished 13th in the overall chase this season. But she did help Canada place second in the mixed relay and should have a shot at the podium in that event this weekend.
The full list of Canadians at the short track worlds:
Men
William Dandjinou: 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m
Steven Dubois: 500m, 1,000m
Maxime Laoun: 1,500m
Jordan Pierre-Gilles: 500m
Félix Roussel: 1,000m, 1500m
Women
Danaé Blais: 1,000m, 1,500m
Kim Boutin: 500m
Florence Brunelle: 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m
Rikki Doak: 500m
Courtney Sarault: 1,000m, 1,500m
Each Canadian skater is also eligible to compete in relays.
How to watch:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Sun
39 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
McIntosh breaks own world record in 400-metre individual medley
Published Jun 11, 2025 • 1 minute read Canada's Summer Mcintosh holds a trophy for the Athlete of the Year at the World Short Course Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. Photo by Denes Erdos / AP VICTORIA — Teen sensation Summer McIntosh has broken yet another record at the Canadian Swimming Trials. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The 18-year-old from Toronto swam the 400-metre individual medley in four minutes 23.65 seconds, breaking the world record 4:24.38 she set at the Olympic trials in Toronto last May. It's the third time McIntosh has set a new world record at this year's Canadian trials, after she posted a new mark in the 200m individual medley on Monday and in the 400m freestyle on Saturday. Read More She also broke her own Canadian records in the 800m freestyle Sunday, finishing in 8:05.07 — nearly five seconds faster than her previous time — and in the 200m butterfly on Tuesday. McIntosh also holds the world record in the 200m butterfly. She won three gold and one silver at the Paris Olympics last summer, becoming the first Canadian to take three gold at a single Games. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Celebrity NHL Editorial Cartoons Toronto Maple Leafs Columnists
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada's Summer McIntosh breaks own world record in 400-metre individual medley
VICTORIA – Teen sensation Summer McIntosh has broken yet another record at the Canadian Swimming Trials. The 18-year-old from Toronto swam the 400-metre individual medley in four minutes 23.65 seconds, breaking the world record 4:24.38 she set at the Olympic trials in Toronto last May. It's the third time McIntosh has set a new world record at this year's Canadian trials, after she posted a new mark in the 200m individual medley on Monday and in the 400m freestyle on Saturday. She also broke her own Canadian records in the 800m freestyle Sunday, finishing in 8:05.07 — nearly five seconds faster than her previous time — and in the 200m butterfly on Tuesday. McIntosh also holds the world record in the 200m butterfly. She won three golds and one silver at the Paris Olympics last summer, becoming the first Canadian to ever take three golds at a single Games. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Don't believe players' cooked-up, ‘parroted' story, Crown says in closing arguments at Hockey Canada trial
LONDON, Ont.—In making her final pitch for convictions at the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, a Crown attorney repeated the same words the prosecution used in its opening statement nearly eight weeks ago: 'This case may not look the way one anticipates a sexual assault to look.' The central issue in the case is whether the complainant, whose identity is covered by a standard publication ban, consented to sexual activity with Alex Formenton, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote, all members of the 2018 Canadian world junior championship team, in a room at the Delta Armouries hotel in the early hours of June 19, 2018, when she was 20 years old.
