SALT LAKE CITY — Canada's Steven Dubois picked up a bronze medal in the men's 1.500-metre race at an ISU short-track speed skating World Cup event on Saturday.
Dubois of Lachenaie, Que., finished in two minutes and 13.424 seconds, just behind the Netherlands' Sjinkie Knegt (2:13.113) and June Seo Lee of South Korea (2:13.214).
"The race felt great," said Dubois.
"It started super fast, so I wasn't sure what to do. I ended up staying in the back, waiting for them to slow down. It never happened, so in the last two or three laps I gave it my all and went outside to get into the third position.
Dubois added that he wasn't expecting a podium finish so early in the season.
"I'm super happy to get a bronze medal here," he said.
"I was expecting medals this year, but for it to come so soon — in the second World Cup — gives me a lot of confidence for what's coming next."
Five-time Olympic medallist Charles Hamelin of Saint-Julie, Que., came in a tie for second in the B final.
Charle Cournoyer of Boucherville, Que., ended up just off the podium in the 1,000-metre final, recording a time of 1:24.997 behind third-place Ji Won Park of South Korea's 1:24.705. Shaolin Sandor Liu of Hungary picked up gold, while Ziwei Ren of China grabbed silver.
On the women's side, Camille De Serres-Rainville of Montreal came in fifth in the 1500 with a time of 2:23.851. Min Jeong Choi and Ji Yoo Kim of South Korea, took gold and silver, respectively, while Xuan Li of China finished third.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old Alyson Charles of Montreal followed up her strong performance at the World Cup in Calgary last weekend with a fourth-place finish in the 1000. Charles clocked in at 1:29.113, behind Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands (1:28.436), Sofia Prosvirnova of Russia (1:28.509) and Kexin Fan of China (1:28.769).
Charles grabbed three bronze medals in Calgary.
The event wraps up Sunday.
The Canadian Press
