Short Track, February 13th

The Canadian women's short track team got the job done on their first day of competition. Despite a little nervousness, all three of our 500m skaters made it through to the quarter-final rounds. The 500m distance to be continued on the 17th.

Jessica Gregg posted the 3rd fastest time overall of the heats during a very smooth race. Kalyna Roberge and Marianne St.Gelais both needed to be sharp in their heats to avoid some potential trouble. And sharp they were!

The women also skated the semi-final relay on the 13th with a solid skate from all four teammates in the race. Tania Vicent joined the 3 named above to help Canada get to the A-Final medal round!

On the men's side of the competition, the day was little bit different. The men were competing in the 1500m (quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals). While no podiums were stood upon by Canadians on this first short track racing day, it was ultimately a positive showing by our crew.

Olivier Jean made it to 4th in the A-final! A performance which will undoubtedly get him pumped up for his upcoming events in the 500m and relay.

Guillaume Bastille had an incredible race unfolding until he was tripped up while making an outside pass into the qualifying position. It's a disappointing disqualification (dq) for Guillaume as this was his only individual race. He was flying up the outside of the pack with enough speed to take over 2nd place when the bumping occurred that took him out of the race. Although unfortunate, Guillaume can be proud of his performance despite the dq. He'll be ready to do battle in the men's relay if called upon to race by his coaches.

For Charles Hamelin, one could see this as disappointment. But you'd be wrong. To talk to him you'd realize that he's not. He skated very well in his races and he gave himself the opportunity to win. Strategically he was well placed and pushed himself to the limit at the end of the race. It was close as he was up against some stiff competition. Motivated for a medal? More than ever now I'm certain.

JC