In Seoul, South Korea, during the award ceremony for the men's 1,500-meter final, Canada's gold medalist William Dandjinou, South Korea's silver medalist Park Ji-won, and Canada's bronze medalist Steven Dubois pose for a photo, positioned from left to right. (Ahn Young-joon/The Associated Press)
Canadian speed skater William Dandjinou clinched the top spot, securing gold in the men's 1,500-meter short track speed skating final at a recent World Cup event held in Seoul, South Korea.
Dandjinou, hailing from Montreal, dashed across the finish line clocking in at two minutes and 18.661 seconds, narrowly edging out South Korea's Park Ji Won, who finished closely behind with a time of 2:18.698.
This victory marked an exceptional turnaround for Dandjinou, who had earlier secured a silver medal in the same distance during Saturday's final race. Expressing his elation, Dandjinou shared his joy with Speed Skating Canada, stating, "I am very happy with my day. It was an incredible way to end the two weeks in Asia. I didn't believe I had any legs left to finish like that, but I'm more than satisfied. Plus sharing the podium with Steven [Dubois] in Korea, the capital of short track, is incredible!"
Joining Dandjinou on the podium, Steven Dubois from Terrebonne, Que., claimed the bronze medal with a time of 2:18.804. Dubois's third-place finish followed his gold-medal victory in the 1,000m final the day before, propelling him to the top of the overall rankings for the Crystal Globe with 683 points, leading Park by a mere two points and Dandjinou by 79.
Impressed by Dandjinou's flawless performance, Dubois remarked, "Will [Dandjinou] had such a perfect race. As soon as I crossed the line, I was like 'what a good race'. It was insane. I was definitely not expecting to be coming out on top [of the Crystal Globe standings] at the end of this part of the season. I know what I have to work on and there will not be too much turkey for me [during the holidays]."
The Canadian team concluded their South Korean campaign with a total of six medals, including the notable golds claimed by Dandjinou and Dubois.
The short track World Cup will continue in February with an upcoming event slated to take place in Dresden, Germany. Fans can catch all the live action streaming on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app, and on CBC Gem.
