Canada’s Steven Dubois wins 500-metre gold at world short track championships

MONTREAL – Steven Dubois felt so ill after his 500-metre quarterfinal Saturday that he might have withdrawn from the competition under different circumstances.

The Canadian short-track speedskater ultimately managed to find enough energy to successfully defend his world title in the distance at Maurice-Richard Arena.

Despite dealing with a cold this week, Dubois was dominant en route to gold Saturday. He led from start to finish in his heats in the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.

“After the quarterfinal, I almost collapsed. I had chills, I was sweating. I really wasn’t feeling good at all,” said Dubois, looking pale. “I think if I hadn’t had a title to defend, I might have thought more seriously about (withdrawing). But I still wanted to reach the final, with the crowd, and try to experience that.”

In the final, Dubois burst out to a trademark blazing start. None of his rivals came close to catching him.

The 28-year-old from Terrebonne, Que., raised a finger after crossing the finish line, to the applause of the many Canadian fans in attendance.

“The crowd was, honestly, that extra little spark of adrenalin and motivation. It’s crazy what it does,” said Dubois, who also won 500-metre gold last month at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Dutch skater Jens van ‘t Wout took silver, while Turkey’s Furkan Akar earned bronze.

Dubois had decided to withdraw from the 1,000 on Friday to focus all his energy on the 500 and the relays. The decision proved to be the right one, despite feeling weak after Saturday’s quarterfinal.

“I ate some candy and applesauce. I laid down for a bit. I took the time to let it pass and I got lucky,” he said. “I was lucky because sometimes in the World Tour we only have 15 to 20 minutes between races. Here, I had 45 minutes or almost an hour.

“We’re here to be the best in the world. Sometimes a small thing can make a big difference. And the crowd really helped me this time.”

A DAY TO FORGET

Montreal’s William Dandjinou experienced a nightmare day. He fell while comfortably leading his semifinal heat, going on to win the B final. The other Canadian in the event, Maxime Laoun, was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Earlier Saturday, Dandjinou also finished the 1,500-metre final in the safety padding after crashing.

“I’d like to tell you we know why it happened, that we’ve seen this before, but we’ve only seen William fall like that twice: now and at the first World Tour in Montreal this fall,” said Canadian head coach Marc Gagnon. “In training, William doesn’t fall. There is an answer and we’ll have to find it quickly to help him tomorrow (Sunday). Otherwise, tomorrow will also be a long day for him.”

Dandjinou and teammate Félix Roussel battled during the first half of the 1,500 final with Britain’s Niall Treacy and Australia’s Brendan Corey in the top four.

However, Dandjinou crashed while leading with just under three laps to go. Roussel also lost his rhythm at the start of the final lap after contact with Corey and slid to the back of the pack. Corey was penalized for the incident.

South Korea’s Rim Jong-un won the race. Italy’s Thomas Nadalini took silver and Belgium’s Stijn Desmet bronze.

Laoun, who spent the final at the back of the pack, along with Roussel and Dandjinou, finished fourth, sixth and seventh respectively.

Dandjinou, the two-time reigning Crystal Globe champion on the ISU World Tour, was the defending world champion in the 1,500.

The 24-year-old had hoped to bounce back at the world championships after missing the podium in the individual distances at the Olympics. He will try to rebound in the 1,000 on Sunday.

In the women’s events, Courtney Sarault, who won four medals in Milan, failed to qualify for the A final in the 1,000.

The 25-year-old from Moncton then fell with less than two laps remaining in the women’s 3,000 relay final. The Canadian quartet — also made up of Florence Brunelle, Kim Boutin and Danaé Blais — settled for fourth place. the Netherlands won the race, ahead of Italy and China.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2026.