TILBURG, Netherlands — William Dandjinou and Steven Dubois earned gold medals Saturday in the penultimate event of the ISU Short Track World Tour as Canada continued its dominance on the speedskating circuit.
Montreal’s Dandjinou won the men’s 1,500-metre race, while Dubois, from Lachenaie, Que., topped the podium in the men’s 500.
Dandjinou has won four of the circuit’s five 1,500 races heading into next week’s finale in Milan and took silver in the other race. He also has two wins in the 1,000 and one in the 500 this season and leads the overall standings with 1,012 points.
On Sunday, Dandjinou took the lead with six laps remaining and held off a charge from Dutch skater Jens van ‘t Wout to win in two minutes 22.54 seconds. Van ‘t Wout (2:22.659) was second and Italy’s Pietro Sighel (2:22.681) was third.
Dubois finished the 500 sprint in 40.313 seconds, just ahead of teammate Jordan Pierre-Gilles of Sherbrooke, Que., (41.362).
Dandjinou also raced in the 500 final but was given a yellow card after his late pass attempt caused two other skaters to crash. Van ‘t Wout was the first of the three to get back to his feet, eventually crossing the finish line in third place.
“I am very happy about my results today, both individual and as a team.,” Dandjinou said. “I would have loved to share the podium with my teammates in the 500, but that time will come and Steven and Jordan did a great job.
“I am satisfied with a really good race in my 1,500. It gives me another dose of confidence, but there is still lots of work to do both physically and tactically to bring everything together.”
Dubois has won three 500 events this season and sits first in that discipline and fourth overall entering Milan.
“My consistent times throughout the three rounds of the 500 prove that I am capable of skating fast on any ice,” Dubois said. “That resulted in my eighth consecutive podium in the 500, so I am very happy.”
Competition continues Sunday with the women’s 500 and 1,500, the men’s 1,000 and 5,000 relay, and the 2,000 mixed relay.
Check out our sports section for the latest news and analysis.