BEIJING — Charles Hamelin’s quest for a sixth Olympic medal remains on course.
The Canadian short-track speedskating legend and teammates Maxime Laoun, Steven Dubois and Pascal Dion finished first in their semifinal of the men’s 5,000-metre relay at the Beijing Games on Friday.
A podium finish in Wednesday’s title race would tie the 37-year-old Hamelin with long-track speedskater Cindy Klassen for the most ever by a Canadian winter athlete.
"I'll do my job to win it, and I'm sure they will do the same,” said the native of Ste-Julie, Que. “We win as a team. We're ready.”Â
Dion added the group is motivated to get their childhood hero onto the podium one more time at his fifth and final Games.
"We'll try our best,” the 27-year-old from Montreal said of the top-ranked Canadians. “And make him, you know, go down in history."
A fourth gold medal also would tie Hamelin with women’s hockey players Hayley Wickenheiser, Caroline Ouellette and Jayna Hefford for the most podium-topping performances by a Canadian at either the Summer or Winter Games.
There were, however, some nervous moments after Dion and a Chinese competitor touched skate blades, sending the latter careening into the padded wall. Officials decided the sequence was legal, but added China to the final to make it a five-country field that also includes Italy, South Korea and the Russian Olympic Committee.
"The Chinese kid tried to pass me,” Dion said. “I just kept my speed, and if he was going to pass me, I would try to make Charles pass on the exchange, but we just had contact with (our) blades. It happens sometimes.
“There's (no reason for) disqualification. I think it was a good, fair call for the Chinese."
Hamelin said a five-team final is nothing new.
“It’s the fourth time in five Olympic Games,” he said. “It is gonna be up to us to manage the extra skaters and the deteriorating ice conditions.Â
“It’s part of the game.”
Hamelin added the group, which also includes the 23-year-old Dubois, 25-year-old Laoun and 23-year-old Jordan Pierre-Gilles – the fifth member – is one he won’t forget.
“Even with the gap of ages in between all of us – me and all of them – the bond is pretty special,” he said to laughter. “I've had a lot of really good teammates, and they're part of it.Â
“They will remain family."
Dubois, a native of Terrebonne, Que., who won silver Wednesday in the men’s 1,500 metres, topped his heat in the men’s 500 earlier Friday, while Pierre-Gilles, of Sherbrooke, Que., finished second in his to also advance.
But Montreal’s Laoun wasn’t able to join them after blowing a tire in his heat.
"I just fell,” said the Montreal product. “I don't know if it's a technique problem or just like the ice breaking under my foot.”
Laoun added it was his responsibility to maintain his focus for the relay.
"I want to be there for all my friends,” he said. “There's no point for me to be like, 'I sucked in that race or I didn't do good.' Like for me, it was like, 'OK, I fell. I have the relay in 45 minutes. How can I come back? How can I be there for them?'Â
“Our team is really strong."
On the women’s side, Moncton’s Courtney Sarault and Montreal’s Alyson Charles both failed to advance to the semifinals of the 1,000 metres.
Sarault, 21, was third in her quarterfinal, while Charles, 23, finished fifth in her race.
“It's not like me,” Sarault said. “I couldn't believe my result.”Â
Charles was equally disappointed in her performance at the Capital Indoor Stadium, which hosted volleyball at the 2008 Summer Olympics and is doubling as the figure skating venue in 2022.
“I was physically strong,” she said. “But I made a mistake, which is not to go in the front early enough.
“And then … it was too late after that.”
Four-time Olympic medallist Kim Boutin, who won bronze in the women’s 500 and was a favourite at 1,000 metres, fell in Wednesday’s heats and was eliminated. But the 27-year-old from Sherbrooke still has two more podium shots in the 1,500-metre relay.
Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands won gold in a breathtaking final. South Korea’s Minjeong Choi took silver, while Belgium’s Hanne Desmet secured bronze.
Canada won five short-track medals four years ago in Pyeongchang, and has four more chances to build on the country’s two so far in China – including Hamelin’s Olympic swansong.
“We were strong,” he said of Friday’s performance. “We were confident and we were smooth.Â
“We'll try to repeat in a couple of days in the final."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2022.
Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
