Montreal's Maxime Raun, a last-minute injury replacement, finished fifth in the men's 1,000 meters.
The Canadian men's relay team of Dubois, Roussel, Jordan Pierre Gilles of Sherbrooke and Pascal Dion of Montreal won the second gold medal of the day in the 5,000 meter relay.
“We knew we had to win in the final, so we ran very aggressive throughout the race to set the pace and show that we were the strongest,” Roussel said. “The gold medal and overall ranking just before the World Championships shows that we have what it takes to be crowned world champions within a month, and that is our goal.”
An exciting race unfolded in the final, with Canada finishing in a time of 6 minutes 55.577 seconds, followed by South Korea (6 minutes 55.915 seconds) and Japan (6 minutes 56.000 seconds) on the podium. This gave the team their third gold medal of the season and propelled them to the top of the World Cup rankings.
The final World Cup of the season, held in Gdańsk, also helped determine the final standings in the Crystal Globe Award race, which recognizes the best overall male and female skaters for the 2023-24 season. Canada finished in the top five in the men's division three times, with Dubois finishing second with 1,052 points behind South Korea's Jiwon Park (1,071 points). D'Anzineux finished third with 784 points, followed by Roussel with 576 points.
After a successful World Cup season, Team Canada heads to the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, March 15-17.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2024.
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