BEIJING, China – Steven Dubois admits it bluntly, although he is confident in his abilities, he never thought he would come away from the Beijing Olympics with two medals in the individual events in short track speed skating.

However, the Terrebonne skater added bronze in the 500 meters to his collection on Sunday, after winning silver in the 1,500 meters four days earlier.

“I would have said it was nonsense,” Dubois said when asked what his reaction would have been if he had been told a few weeks ago that he would win two individual medals at the Olympics.

“I had never really proven myself in the big events,” he added. I won individual medals at the World Cup, but I went to the World Championships twice and only had a fourth place in the 500 metres. »

Canadian team head coach Sebastien Cros noted that Dubois had seemed calmer over the past few days. For his part, Dubois admitted that his silver medal in the 1,500 meters on Wednesday relieved him of some pressure.

“I was stressed to do well in the 500 metres, but the pressure to come home with a medal was gone,” said the 25-year-old Quebecer, who is in his first Olympic Games. I think I was more lucid.

“Before the final, I was sitting in my chair. I had done my recovery and sharpened my blades. I was physically and mentally ready. I knew what I wanted to do. It was clear. The pressure was less. I did exactly what I wanted to do and it gave me a third place. »

In the quarter-finals and semi-finals on Sunday, Dubois got off to a good start and quickly found himself up front.

He eventually finished second in his heat in the quarter-finals. Then in the semi-finals, Dubois took advantage of an advancement conceded by the referee to reach the final, after losing his balance following contact with the South Korean Hwang Daeheon.

The native of Terrebonne took full advantage of this chance. He quickly edged Kazakh Abzal Azhgaliyev down the front straight to settle into third position and he defended his place on the podium until the end.

Hungarian Shaoang Liu won gold, ahead of Russian Olympic Committee representative Konstantin Ivliev.

Charle Cournoyer also won bronze in the 500 meters at the Sochi Games in 2014. Samuel Girard finished just off the podium in Pyeongchang in 2018.

For his part, Dubois was determined to do well in the 500 meters in Beijing, since it is his favorite distance.

“He is so explosive that he manages to have an advantage during the first lap and a half, noted Cros. On a 500 meters, it is decisive. It also has a good top speed.

“On a four and a half laps, when you manage to do two and a half or three laps ahead, it’s not bad! Then, you need a certain agility to defend your position. »

Dubois admitted to being a little shocked after his medal in the 1,500 metres. The emotions were different this time around.

“It’s more of a relief,” he said. This is (the 500 meters) the distance I was focusing on in training. To know that I finally proved that I had my place among the best over this distance, that I managed to shine over this distance in a major competition, it’s a relief. I can’t wait to join my teammates in celebrating. »

Earlier in the evening, Jordan Pierre-Gilles had seen his career slowed down in the quarter-finals following a fall. He was officially ranked 18th.

Pierre-Gilles noted that one of his skate blades had touched one of Liu’s blades during the start of their wave. His blade was visibly damaged during the contact and this is what caused his fall.

Disappointment in the 3000m

The final of the women’s 3000 meters relay was also on the schedule.

Canada finished just off the podium due to late-race errors during pushes, with several positional changes.

Kim Boutin, Courtney Sarault, Florence Brunelle and Alyson Charles represented the team.

The Netherlands led from start to finish to snatch gold, ahead of South Korea and China.

The Dutch, favorites and world record holders, were crowned Olympic champions in memory of their teammate who died suddenly in 2020.

A very emotional title, 18 months after the sudden death due to illness of one of the Dutch team’s skaters, Lara van Ruijven, during an internship in Perpignan in July 2020.

Led by Suzanne Schulting, already a double medalist at these Games (gold in the 1000m, silver in the 500m), the Dutch were imperial throughout the race, taking the lead from the start.

This is the first women’s relay title for the Netherlands.

Canada’s men’s short track speed skating team will look to wrap up their Olympic adventure on Wednesday as they compete in the 5,000 meter relay final. It will then be Charles Hamelin’s last career race at the Winter Games.