Hamelin disqualified in 500, fails to advance in 1,000 at WCup in Calgary

CALGARY — It was a tough opening day for Charles Hamelin at the season-opening ISU short-track speeding skating World Cup.

The five-time Olympic medallist and last season’s overall title winner failed to advance in 1,000-metre race and was disqualified from the 500m (1) heats because of a false-start penalty at the Olympic Oval on Friday.

The 34-year-old of Saint-Julie, Que., was the first Canadian to take the overall title since Marc Gagnon of Chicoutimi, Que., 20 years ago.

Other Canadians fared better.

Steven Dubois of Lachenaie, Que., set a new Canadian record in the 500 with a time of 39.845 seconds, overtaking the old mark of 40.493 set by teammate Samuel Girard of Ferland-et-Boilleau, Que., at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

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“I just banked a whole lot of confidence for the rest of the weekend and for the next World Cup,” said Dubois, who is making his debut in individual distances on the World Cup circuit this season.

“I’m going to keep riding that wave and I hope it goes well.”

Girard and Cedrik Blais of Chateauguay, Que., also moved on to the quarterfinals of the 500.

With Hamelin failing to advance and Charle Cournoyer of Boucherville, Que., also failing to do so, Dubois was the only Canadian to progress in the 1,000m.

Cournoyer and Girard also advanced in the 1,500m, along with Pascal Dion of Montreal.

On the women’s side, eight of 10 Canadian skaters progressed into the next rounds.

Alyson Charles of Montreal, Que., had a pair of first-place finishes in the 500 (1) and 500 (2) heats to advance to the quarterfinals. Alison Desmarais of Vanderhoof, B.C.,  also moved on the 500 and 1000.

Courtney Sarault of Moncton, N.B., made the semifinal of the 1,500 and advanced in 1,000.

Camille de Serres-Rainville of Montreal clocked the second-fastest time in the 1,000 to move into the next round. Claudia Gagnon of Saguenay, Que., also stayed alive in the 1,500.

While the men’s and women’s relay teams both advanced, Canada also qualified for the semifinals of the mixed-gender relay, which was making its World Cup debut on Friday.

The Canadian Press