DORDRECHT, Netherlands — Canada's Kim Boutin blazed to the top of the podium on Saturday at a World Cup short-track speedskating event.
Boutin, from Sherbrooke, Que., crossed the finish line in 42.464 seconds, ahead of Italy's Arianna Fontana (42.756) and Russia's Elena Seregina (42.792), to capture her second 500-metre medal of the season.
Bouitn finished third at a World Cup stop last week in Debrecen, Hungary.
Courtney Sarault and Steven Dubois added silver medals for Canada on Saturday.
This gold medal was Boutin's first since winning five in a row during the last full World Cup campaign in 2019-20.
The 26-year-old Boutin broke the 42-second mark in the quarterfinals with a time of 41.939, falling just shy of equaling the world record of 41.936 seconds she set in Salt Lake City in 2019.
“I am really happy with my result today," Boutin said. "I was three one-thousandths of a second off my world record, which was unexpected. I was surprised to skate 41.9 on this ice, especially since I didn't feel super sharp in my preliminary races on Thursday.
"This gold medal performance confirms to me that I still have speed and that I am very strong. In my opinion, I'm one of the most explosive skaters in the 500m and I'm really happy with where I am at."
Sarault finished second in the women's 1,500 metres in two minutes 22.075 seconds. She jostled with Dutch skater Suzanne Schulting for much of the race before South Korea's Lee Yubin snuck past both of them in the final lap to earn gold in 2:21.931.
“I knew there would be a lot of chaos in the back of the race, and I got stuck in that spot last weekend, so my goal today was to be in the top-2 going into the final laps," Sarault said.
Dubois, from Lachenaie, Que., earned his first World Cup medal of the season with a second-place finish in the men's 500 metres.
Dubois posted a time of 40.023 seconds, behind Wu Dajing of China (39.878) and ahead of Konstantin Ivliev of Russia (41.728).
"I knew I was capable of winning but having the result under my belt will give me a good boost for what is to come," Dubois said.
The World Cup in Dordrecht concludes on Sunday with the finals in the 1,000m, as well as the men's, women's and mixed gender relays.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2021.
The Canadian Press
