William Dandjinou (CAN) is congratulated by teammate Jordan Pierre-Gilles after winning the 5000m Relay for his fifth gold medal of the ISU Short Track World Tour event in Montreal. © ISU

William Dandjinou of the Canadian Ice Maples continued to set new standards in the sport on Sunday, as he sealed a grand slam of five gold medals in front of a wild home crowd in Montreal.

Dandjinou took the anchor leg for Canada’s 2000m Mixed Relay victory, won the 1000m final, then added 5000m Relay gold.

It was a unique sweep for Dandjinou, who also grabbed gold in the 500m and 1500m on Saturday.

Suzanne Schulting of the Dutch Lions won four out of four races on a weekend in 2021 – in the days before the Mixed Relay – but Dandjinou is the first skater to achieve it across five.

Canadians begin day with slick Mixed Relay victory 

The Canadian Ice Maples won every medal available on Saturday, and they kept the dominance rolling on Sunday. 

Their main rivals, the Dutch Lions, were unfortunate as Jens van ’t Wout fell over in instalments with eight laps to go. He managed to tag a teammate, but momentum was lost. 

Dandjinou brought home the anchor leg for Canada, while the Korean White Tigers took silver and the Polish Hussars the bronze. 

Canadian Ice Maples Felix Roussel, Courtney Sarault, William Dandjinou and Danae Blais celebrate their Mixed Relay win Sunday in Montreal. © ISU

It was Poland’s first medal of the Tour this season. 

“It is a big relief after two hard weekends,” said Michal Niewinski. “This is a medal that Poland can target at the Olympics. We made a few mistakes today and I think we can improve. I think for the Olympics we can be ready to be a big player for this distance.

 The Polish Hussars picked up their first medal of the ISU Short Track World Tour season, taking bronze in the Mixed Relay Sunday in Montreal. © ISU

“In the mixed, you don’t want to stay at the back for too long, because there is always a big mess,” said Niewinski. “If you’re at the front you are safe. If you need to pass, it’s way more dangerous.”

Canada narrowly misses out on 1000m sweep 

Canada has been targeting a rare 1-2-3 in the men’s event, and once again three Ice Maples lined up for a final in Montreal: Dandjinou, Steven Dubois and Felix Roussel.

The trio led out the race, with Dandjinou controlling the pace. There was a little jostling with Pietro Sighel of the Italian Gladiators, who ended up being forced wide and getting a penalty.

Dandjinou never really looked in peril, and during the final laps upped the velocity to stay out of trouble, take the gold, and perform his eagle celebration. Dubois held steady for silver; Hwang Daeheon of the Korean White Tigers got past Roussel for bronze. 

William Dandjinou (CAN) crosses the finish line ahead of teammate Steven Dubois in the 1000m final at Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal. © ISU

“I need to really appreciate this moment,” said Dandjinou. “As a kid you dream about those moments. I know Suzanne Schulting did something similar, but I’ll not be flattering myself too much. It feels great, but I can’t take results like this for granted. There are really good competitors here. I’ve done great races, but it’s always a bit circumstantial in Short Track. 

“The Europeans will bring their A game in Europe, and at the Olympics, but it is very motivating. I want to stay focused on doing the right things. There’s a process to follow.”

Dandjinou paid tribute to his cheering squad — one of whom wore an eagle’s head in honour of the skater’s celebration. 

“They’re mainly skaters, and I feel we can bring energy and excitement into this sport. I hope in the future it builds up. I hope the fans in Poland and Netherlands can do the same. It’s great to have a community organising the fans, and I’m a great believer in community. I remember being in their position, not long ago. For them to express their love of the sport is empowering.”

Hwang, the reigning Olympic 1500m champion, also looks to be hitting form at the right time. 

Hwang Daeheon (KOR) races Jens vant 'T Wout (NED) in the 1000m quarterfinals at the ISU Short Track World Tour in Montreal. © ISU

“It’s a very special year as we took a year off out of competition, so now I’m getting a hang of the season, the performance of others, and what I need to improve,” Hwang said. 

“I am very focused on the Olympics and defending that gold. It is everyone’s dream. Short Track is very important in Korea. It has been everything to me since I was very young. Dandjinou is very strong. We need to train as hard as we can to race him.”

Relay magic caps perfect weekend 

The weekend’s action climaxed with the Men's 5000m Relay. Amid great pressure from the Italian Gladiators and Dutch Lions, the Canadians held their nerves and made their exchanges slickly, making a late pass to get to the front. Roussel led them home, with the Dutch second and the Italians third.

“It was a crazy race, and the crowd was crazy,” said Roussel. “We had confidence to hang back and go for it at the end.”

Felix Roussel secured gold for Canada in the 5000m Relay, the Ice Maples' seventh gold medal of the weekend in Montreal. © ISU

Roussel was in awe of Dandjinou’s defeat-free weekend. 

“We know how hard he works, what he puts in during training. He is our leader, but he puts a lot of emphasis on team, and he doesn’t just want the spotlight.”

On a bountiful weekend for the host nation, Canada coach Marc Gagnon was remaining level-headed. 

“We are sticking to most of the plans we have,” he said. “I’m glad that after the first weekend we were able to adjust stuff, because the final goal of course is the Olympics. We want to keep getting even better. The team was hungry and wanted more after last weekend. If we can keep handling the stress that will come, we can be ready for the Olympics.”

He also had praise for Dandjinou.

“To do what William has done here is really, really hard. For most skaters, when they get to that second distance in one day, it can be a struggle. So to be able to be at the top physically and mentally for three races is incredible. He has everything, the next thing is to stay humble, stay focused on his plan, and think about what he needs to do to keep winning.”

It puts the Canadian in pole position to defend his ISU Crystal Globe title, and sent the fans at Maurice Richard Arena – including a group of soccer-style ultras with their tops off – into a frenzy.

Standings 

With the ISU Short Track World Tour halfway through for the season, Dandjinou leads the field with 442 points, followed by Sighel with 352 and Dubois with 308.

The tour goes again in Gdansk, Poland 20-23 November, before moving on to Dordrecht, Netherlands, for the all important fourth and final leg of the Tour, 27-30 November.