Canada shut out in short-track Friday at Olympics, fourth in men’s 5,000 relay
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MILAN – The Canadian short-track speedskating team will leave the Milan Cortina Olympics with five medals after coming up empty Friday, finishing fourth in the men’s 5,000-metre relay despite being the pre-race favourite.
William Dandjinou, Steven Dubois, Félix Roussel and Maxime Laoun led early but lost ground through uneven exchanges as the Netherlands won gold, followed by South Korea with silver and host Italy with bronze.
Canada finished in six minutes 52.425 seconds, 0.578 seconds behind the Dutch and 0.090 seconds shy of the podium.
Dubois was chasing a third medal in Milan after capturing gold in the men’s 500 and silver in the mixed team relay, along with Dandjinou and Roussel.
After the race, Dubois said he didn’t know what happened in the competition where the team started so well.
“I can just tell you we are disappointed with the result,” he said. “Not the way we wanted to end the race. We are going to look at it again in the next few days and then prepare ourselves for the world championships (in March).
“As far as strategies, I can’t tell you what went wrong.”
Dandjinou, meanwhile, was coming off disappointing results in three individual events in which he had been expected to medal but finished no higher than fourth.
“I didn’t even know it was possible to finish fourth that many times in one Games,” Dandjinou said after the relay race. “My promise still stands, you will see me in four years.”
He had made the promise earlier in the week, after his first two individual events, that he “will be Olympic champion” someday, but “maybe not tomorrow.”
“For sure, I have seen my potential,” Dandjinou said. “I have seen the potential of this team and finishing so close so often means that we can do it. And it’s just a matter of time. We will stay ready.”
Canada came up empty in the women’s 1,500 as well. Kim Boutin was eliminated in the semifinals, while Danaé Blais and Courtney Sarault skated in the B final and not in the A final where medals were handed out.
The ice surface appeared to be an issue for skaters in the races, with a number of stumbles and falls in the various competitions Friday.
Sarault, who was seeking her fifth medal at the Games but fell in the semifinal race, did not shy away from the issue of having a poor ice surface.
“Don’t really know (what happened),” she said of her fall. “I had a hit with someone at the start and think I lost my edge. Then the ice condition wasn’t great, so I was fighting with no edge and then not landing properly. So, when the ice chipped out, my centre of gravity wasn’t really very good to fight it, so it just chipped away.
“Everyone fell in that race. It was really unfortunate and kind of a heartbreaking way to end my Olympics. I wanted to go out with a fight.”
The Canadian short-track team ends the Games with five medals – Dubois’ gold, two silvers and two bronzes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2026.