Danaé Blais and Courtney Sarault on the podium in Short Track Speed Skating World Circuit

Canadians Danaé Blais (25) and Courtney Sarault, on the right, and Poland’s Kornelia Wozniak (84) in action during the semi-finals of the women’s 500-metre event at the Montreal leg of the Short Track Speed Skating World Circuit on Sunday, 1 November 2026. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)

Canadians Danaé Blais and Courtney Sarault took podium places in the 500-metre event during the Montreal leg of the Short Track Speed Skating World Circuit on Sunday at the Maurice-Richard Arena.

Only the Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer, the reigning Olympic and world champion over the distance, was able to beat the two Canadians in the final. Blais finished second with a career-best time, ahead of Sarault.

Florence Brunelle, from Trois-Rivières, finished fourth.

Victoria Jean-Baptiste, from Laval, was knocked out in the quarter-finals. She fell at the end of the first bend after her skate caught on a black cone.

The Canadian team had got their day off to a good start, with the quartet of Sarault, Blais, Félix Roussel and Maxime Laoun winning silver in the 2,000-metre mixed relay.

The Érables de glace skaters certainly had a bit of a scare. Sarault made contact with an Italian skater with six laps to go and her rival fell. However, the referees decided not to penalise Sarault, ruling that responsibility for the contact was shared between the two skaters.

The Netherlands won gold. China took the bronze.

On Saturday, Roussel won gold in the 500m ahead of Laoun. Roussel also won silver in the 1,500m. Meanwhile, Sarault claimed silver in the women’s 1,000m.

Medals were also awarded later on Sunday in the women’s 1,500 metres, as well as in the men’s 1,000 metres and the men’s 5,000-metre relay.

The next round of the Short Track Speed Skating World Circuit will take place from 20 to 22 November in Seoul, South Korea.

This article by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 31, 2026.