Canadian speed skater Will Dandjinou from Montreal clinched the fifth spot in the men’s Olympic short track 1,500 meters on Saturday, following a fourth-place finish in the 1,000 in Milan two days earlier. Despite being a strong contender for a medal in both events, Dandjinou was well-positioned to launch a late attack during the 1,500 race, trailing behind leader Jens van ‘T Wout from the Netherlands with four laps to go.
As the final 13.5 laps approached, Dandjinou slipped to third place before a collision with South Korea’s Shin Dong Min disrupted his momentum, ultimately preventing him from regaining his position. The 24-year-old newcomer to the Olympics now sets his sights on the 500-meter event scheduled for Wednesday.
Expressing his disappointment, Dandjinou revealed to CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux, “I felt good and got bumped out. I can promise you that maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day, I will be Olympic champion.” Analyst Michael Gilday, a former short track racer at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, emphasized the significant speed loss resulting from the collision, especially in the crucial final laps of the 1,500 meters due to the impact of lactic acid buildup.
Van ‘T Wout secured the 1,500 gold in a time of 2 minutes 12.219 seconds, seizing the lead with five laps remaining and adding to his triumph in the 1,000 event earlier in the week. South Korea’s Hwang Dae-heon, the reigning 2022 Olympic champion, claimed silver with a time of 2:12.304, while Latvia’s Roberts Kruzbergs earned bronze in 2:12.376. Dandjinou crossed the finish line at 2:12.639.
In a separate development, Steven Dubois, the silver medalist from the 2022 Beijing Olympics, encountered a setback as he fell during the men’s 1,500-meter race in Milan, finishing in sixth place (2:36.955). Reflecting on the incident, Dubois expressed his disappointment at the early fall and voiced his determination to perform better in the upcoming 500-meter competition.
Dubois, along with China’s Liu Shaoang, advanced to the final after an interference ruling against Italy’s Thomas Nadalini, who impeded Dubois when he was in a qualifying position in the semifinals. Despite starting the World Tour season recovering from a hip injury, Dubois managed to secure third place in the overall standings.
Dandjinou, who missed qualifying for the Beijing Olympics four years ago, has since emerged as a dominant force on the ISU World Tour, with expectations high for his participation in the men’s 5,000 relay, starting with the semifinals on Monday. Following his recent accomplishments, including leading in the 1,000 event until the final laps, Dandjinou aims to continue his pursuit of success at the Games.
The article also highlights the strong performances of Canada’s women speed skaters, with Courtney Sarault, Kim Boutin, Florence Brunelle, and Danae Blais advancing through the 1,000 preliminaries to reach the quarterfinals scheduled for Monday. Notably, the women’s relay team secured qualification for the 3,000 relay final on Wednesday after a stellar performance, setting the stage for exciting competitions ahead.