Roussel and Laoun Finish 1-2 for Canada in Montreal Short Track 500

Canada won four medals on the first day of the ISU Short Track World Tour stop in Montreal on Saturday, and the loudest finish came in the mens 500 metres. Felix Roussel of Sherbrooke, Quebec took gold in 40.380 seconds and Maxime Laoun of Montreal took silver in 40.484, a Canadian one-two on home ice at Maurice Richard Arena.

Roussel led from the start, but the Dutch pair of Teun Boer and Jens van T Wout caught him late. The two Dutch skaters then took each other out on the final lap. Roussel and Laoun, who had been running third and fourth, crossed first and second. Italys Thomas Nadalini took bronze in 40.702.

The gold was Roussels first individual distance medal of the season. Laoun won his second 500 metre silver in two weeks. He also finished second in Vancouver.

A second medal for Roussel

Hours later, Roussel added silver in the mens 1500 metres. He sat in fifth for much of the race and moved to second in the last laps, finishing in 2:20.295. Van T Wout won in 2:20.184. Japans Miyata Shogo was third in 2:20.418.

Sarault silver in the 1000

Courtney Sarault of Moncton, New Brunswick, the reigning ISU Crystal Globe winner, took silver in the womens 1000 metres in 1:30.336. Koreas Choi Minjeong won in 1:30.273. Belgiums Hanne Desmet was third in 1:30.393. Canadians Florence Brunelle and Danae Blais finished fourth and fifth in the same final.

The same Canadian group, with Claudia Gagnon added, reached the womens 3000 metre relay final. Brunelle was penalized for kicking out at the finish line, and Canada was placed fourth behind Italy, Korea and the Netherlands.

What happens next

Racing continues Sunday in Montreal with the 2000 metre mixed relay, the womens 500 and 1500 metres, and the mens 1000 metres and 5000 metre relay. For a Canadian team racing at home in front of its own crowd, Saturday set the tone: medals in three individual finals and a one-two finish in the shortest race on the program.

What the skaters said

"I'm pretty happy," Roussel said after the two medals. "None of my races were perfect but my results are encouraging. I'm still in learning mode but am still able to have good results, so I'm satisfied. It gives me good information for the future."

Sarault called her silver a little bittersweet. "Winning is what I'm here to try to do," she said. "Regardless, I'm proud of how I raced and of all my races leading up. I did some tactical things that were wrong in that final, and that cost me a little bit of legs."

Montreal is the second Canadian stop on this World Tour, after Vancouver on October 23 to 25. Maurice Richard Arena hosted a sold out World Championships last March, and more than 200 skaters from over 30 countries came to Canada for the two stops.