Canada’s Sarault wins Olympic silver in 1,000m short-track speedskating

ASSAGO – Despite seizing silver, Canada’s Courtney Sarault gave only a modest nod of the head after crossing the finish line Monday.

The 25-year-old from Moncton placed second in the women’s 1,000-metre short-track speedskating final — her third medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics — but fell just short of her own hopes for the top spot.

“I looked like a sore loser,” Sarault said, laughing at her own reaction, which contrasted with her enthusiastic response to a bronze in the 500 four days earlier. “That wasn’t my intention. I love to race and I love to win.

“I made a mistake. I didn’t execute my race as well as I had hoped. I really wanted to win and take home the gold,” she added.

Sarault finished in one minute 28.523 seconds. The Netherlands’ Xandra Velzeboer (1:28.437) grabbed gold, while South Korea’s Kim Gilli (1:28.614) earned bronze.

On top of her own bronze, Sarault had already grabbed a silver in the mixed team relay.

She became the third-ever medalist for Canada in the women’s 1,000. Nathalie Lambert (1994) and Kim Boutin (2018) also earned silver in the event.

On Monday, the short-track speedskater held the lead for the first six of nine laps when Velzeboer passed her, and Kim went into second shortly after with two laps left. Turning the corner for the final lap, Sarault overtook Kim but failed to catch up to Velzeboer.

“I’d rather make a mistake in my final and get silver than not get a medal at all,” Sarault said, adding that racking up three felt “just crazy.”

“From four years ago, I’ve come such a long way. In this distance, I think I came 11th (at the 2022 Beijing Games).

The medal trio now in Sarault’s collection put her on par with Kim Boutin’s medal haul at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, a record for a Canadian short-track speedskater at a single Olympic Games.

Sarault became the Crystal Globe champion as the top woman overall during the 2025-26 ISU Short Track World Tour. She also has six world championship medals in individual distances to her name.

In the men’s 5,000-metre relay, William Dandjinou, Steven Dubois, Maxime Laoun and Félix Roussel secured Canada’s spot in Friday’s final following a dramatic race that saw several falls during one exchange.

“We have a lot of experience in the relay. For us, it’s about using that experience, staying calm in any situation and trying to do our best to move forward,” Dandjinou said Monday.

“We skated great and I’m proud of my team.”

Italy, South Korea and the Netherlands will join Canada to compete for the top spot in the finals.

In the men’s 500, Dandjinou, Dubois and Laoun were all the top qualifiers in their heats to advance to Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

Dandjinou has notched one medal so far, in the mixed relay.

The two-time defending ISU World Series Crystal Globe winner finished fourth in the 1,000 on Thursday and fifth in the 1,500 on Saturday.

He stressed Monday he would be satisfied with nothing less than first.

“I could have run for the silver medal in the individual races — defending rather than being aggressive — but who I am is someone who aims for the gold medal,” said the 24-year-old.

“It might be a double-edged sword sometimes, but I won’t change.”

Marc Gagnon, the head coach of the Canadian team, noted that Sarault has already competed at the Olympics, perhaps giving her a different perspective on success at the Games.

“With everything that’s happened over the last four years, she still managed to be happy with that (silver). William wasn’t there four years ago,” Gagnon said.

At the 2022 Beijing Games, Sarault put much of the blame on herself for the team’s fourth-place finish in the 3,000-metre women’s relay.

“I was young and very hard on myself, and I’ve learned over the years that sport doesn’t define who I am,” Sarault said Monday.

She added that she understood Dandjinou’s thirst for first.

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“As an athlete, you always want the best. When Will says he wants gold, it’s because he knows he can get it,” Sarault said.

“However, in our sport, it doesn’t always happen. Your name is never written on a medal before the race. You have to fight for it.”

She also reminded her counterpart to enjoy the experience.

“Today, I told him to focus on each race and not to think too much about the result. You also have to have fun when you’re doing the sport you love.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2026.