The Canadian quartet of Florence Brunelle, Courtney Sarault, Claudia Gagnon and Danaé 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.
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.
Canada won in four minutes 13.609 seconds, beating second-place South Korea by 0.272 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. The Netherlands finished third.
WATCH | Canada wins women’s 3,000m relay final:
Canadian Ice Maples claim gold in women’s relay at Short Track World Tour in Vancouver
Canada’s Courtney Sarault, Florence Brunelle, Danaé Blais and Claudia Gagnon finish first in the women’s 3,000-metre relay final at the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Vancouver.
“Winning the gold, first World Tour in Vancouver. It’s incredible,” Sarault told CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux. “It was definitely a tough race, and we had to adapt a lot and kind of find chances to choose when to go. I think that we executed it perfectly and we were able to secure the gold.”
Canada’s relay team was without six-time Olympic medallist Kim Boutin, who helped the squad earn bronze at the Milano Cortina Games before retiring after the world championships in Montreal in March.
Canada reached the final after finishing second behind South Korea in its semifinal heat, with Ann-Sophie Bachand skating in place of Blais. Bachand also received a gold medal.
The medal race featured the same four teams as the 2026 Olympic final, which South Korea won ahead of Italy.
WATCH | Canadian women’s relay team on winning gold:
Canadian Ice Maples reflect on gold-medal performance in women’s relay
The Canadian Ice Maples chat with Devin Heroux after winning the women’s 3,000-metre relay final at the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Vancouver.
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. Saturday’s session drew 3,492 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. Reigning Olympic and world 500m champion Steven Dubois of Lachenaie, Que., crashed on the final corner and finished fourth.
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.
WATCH | Laoun skates to 500m silver:
Montreal’s Maxime Laoun captures silver in 500m at Short Track World Tour opener in Vancouver
Maxime Laoun of Montreal finishes second in the men’s 500-metre final at the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Vancouver.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of injuries,” Laoun told CBC Sports, adding that he had often been unable to do what he wanted on the ice. “To be finally back on the podium is pretty amazing. I feel great today.”
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. 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. His father told him that meant his grandfather wanted a medal, “so go get it.”
WATCH | Laoun on reaching podium at season-opening stop:
Maxime Laoun ‘feels great’ to start the season on Short Track World Tour podium
Montreal’s Maxime Laoun discusses finishing second in the men’s 500-metre final at the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Vancouver.
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. She beat South Korea’s Shim Suk-hee, Confortola and Poland’s Gabriela Topolska.
Sarault, from Moncton, N.B., missed the medal race after finishing third in her 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).
Sarault won Olympic silver in the distance as part of a four-medal haul at the Milano Cortina Games.
Van ‘t Wout completed a double by winning the men’s 1,500m in 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. Japan’s Shogo Miyata took bronze in 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. The Sherbrooke, Que., native had posted the second-fastest semifinal time behind Van ‘t Wout.
WATCH | Full replay of Day 1 finals:
ISU Short Track World Tour Vancouver: Day 1
Watch the opening day of the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Vancouver.
Roussel later helped Canada advance to Sunday’s final in the men’s 5,000m relay alongside Dubois, Laoun and Mathieu Pelletier. The Canadians placed second behind South Korea in their semifinal heat. Roussel narrowly avoided disaster, staying on his feet after nearly going down.
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.
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. 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.
Dandjinou helped Canada win the World Tour’s team Crystal Globe for the second straight time last season.
WATCH | Dandjinou’s new approach to speed skating, road to 2030 Olympics:
William Dandjinou’s new approach to speed skating and his road to 2030
The Canadian short track speed skater opens up about taking time to reflect after the Olympic Games, and why he’s shifting his focus from immediate results to long-term growth. He also discusses his upcoming entry into long track speed skating, his plans for the season, and the challenges of rebuilding ahead of a return to short track competition and the World Championships. Watch the full 33-minute interview on the CBC Sports YouTube channel.
Competition in Vancouver wraps up Sunday with finals in the women’s 500m and 1,500m, the men’s 1,000m, and the mixed and men’s relays.
“Skating here tonight was incredible,” Brunelle said in a release. “Bringing short track back to Vancouver, a place that is maybe less familiar with it than Quebec, is amazing. I hope that people fell in love with the sport tonight.
“I look forward to racing here again tomorrow and for many years to come.”
Watch live coverage of the Day 2 finals on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem, starting at 7 p.m. ET.
The World Tour then moves to Montreal’s Maurice Richard Arena from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.
Saturday’s medal races were featured on CBC Sports Primetime, CBC’s new weekly flagship sports show hosted by Andi Petrillo.