Canada’s Charle Cournoyer claims short-track gold in Calgary World Cup

“We try not to put the other one in trouble,” said Cournoyer. “I try to be as clean as possible on him.

“For sure, it’s tricky. But with Sam, with two or three laps left I thought ‘If I can do the pass, I’ll do it. If I can’t, I’ll just stay behind Sam and block (for) him.’ In the end, it’s two Canadian medals. It’s extremely good.”

Their double-medal performance was the highlight of a mixed World Cup season-opener for the host Canadian team.

Their objective coming into Calgary was at least eight medals in eight individual races. They leave with five — two gold and three silver.

“We set the bar high. We put it out there and say ‘this is what we want to win’ and sometimes we get there and sometimes we don’t,” Canadian men’s coach Derrick Campbell said.

“As long as we’ve got that bar high and we’re close, we’re good with that.”

Jamie MacDonald of Fort St. James, Que., earned silver in the women’s 500 metres Sunday.

Girard was a double medallist in Calgary after a gold in Saturday’s 500 metres. Marianne St.-Gelais of Saint-Felicien took silver in the women’s 500 Saturday.

It was a forgettable weekend for triple Olympic gold medallist Charles Hamelin of Sainte-Julie, Que. He crashed out of his 500 and 1,000 metres and also went down in the final of the men’s relay Sunday.

The 32-year-old said he was pushed by a Hungarian competitor in the relay, but officials did not change the final result of Hungary first, the Netherlands second and South Korea third.

“It was a difficult weekend. I fell in every single distance I competed in,” Hamelin said. “When you put your hand on the back on anyone in front of you and you make them fall, it should have been a (penalty).”

Valerie Maltais of Saguenay Que., also fell in her leg of the women’s relay final, so the Canadian women did reach the podium.

Triple Olympic silver medallist St.-Gelais pulled up in her 1,000-metre semifinal after qualifying second in her earlier quarter-final.

The 26-year-old said she felt a re-occurance of dizziness that she’d experienced prior to her arrival in Calgary. St.-Gelais insisted it wasn’t because of a concussion.

“Before the quarter-final I was feeling a little bit dizzy. I had a couple of episodes in Montreal,” St.-Gelais said. “We don’t know what it is. I was feeling dizzy, really weak. I wasn’t feeling my legs anymore.

“If my body doesn’t want to go to war, I have to listen to it.”

MacDonald trained at the Oval in Calgary for four years before moving to the short-track national training centre in Montreal this summer.

The 21-year-old won her first World Cup medal, a 1,000-metre bronze, in last season’s finale.

“It is only my second medal on the World Cup circuit,” MacDonald said. “I feel like I left off really well last year and I’m starting off on the same foot.”

Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, Que., was in the hunt for a medal in the women’s 1,000 metres Sunday, but missed the podium by a skate tip as she was out-stretched at the line in a battle for second and third.

The Canadian team heads to Salt Lake City. The second of six World Cups this season starts Friday.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Canada’s Charle Cournoyer claims short-track gold in Calgary World Cup

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