Both Putin and Dion won the silver medal in the 1500m to cheers from the crowd.
Putin then won his second silver, this time in the 500-meter race. Slightly wide, Quebecers were taken aback by Dutchman Xandra Velzeboer and couldn’t catch up.
Velzibor won with a time of 42.476 seconds, followed by Putin with a time of 42.570 seconds, ahead of the Dutchwoman, Yara van Kerkhove (42.642). Alison Charles finished fourth (42.772).
Medalist Bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics for 500mPutin says he is in better shape than ever.
Beijing was a medium for me Flip the page on my latest gamesGet to know the Sherbrooke skater. It was a way to get to something I was happy with on the ice. I downgraded my performance a bit to be happy on the ice, but now I’m trying to combine the two. This will be my challenge.
Putin is ranked first in the cumulative standings and could therefore be looking to win the title of world champion on Sunday.
The hardest thing in the world championship is to be consistent. Today I was; I just have to take one step at a time.
Of the men, Pascal Dionne won the 500m b final (40.829). Stephen Dubois finished third (41.046).
In the 1500m, Putin finished behind Mingyong Choi of South Korea and ahead of Yemin Seo, also of South Korea. Courtney Sarlault came back on the last lap, but her attempt wasn’t enough to earn a spot on the podium. She had to settle for fourth place.
Putin quickly moved to the fore. Choi overtook her by four laps and couldn’t catch up.
I am really happy with the 1500m; I was a little more in the strategy. I could have predicted that my competition would go abroad… It’s the next goal: I’m going to try to challenge her in this aspect.
In the men’s 1500m, Dion also preferred to settle quickly between the front of the peloton in the race. Hungarian Shaoang Liu passed it to win the gold medal. Belgian Stijn Desmet finished third.
Quebec’s Jordan Pierre Gilles finished fourth in the final b. His compatriot Stephen Dubois was suspended in the semi-finals for a fall.
At the end of the day, Charles Hamlin made sure to take part in one last final: the men’s relay. Hamlin helped Canada qualify in this event. The women’s team also secured a place in the final.
Hamlin has not entered into any competition other than the relay in these world championships. A thoughtful decision to make the most of this latest competition.
I got goosebumps hearing the crowd chanting my name… I lost those feelings a bit. It’s a really cool day with podiums for both guys and girls. Cheering on the team in the stands with my girlfriend and daughter is something I wanted to experience before I said goodbye to skiing. Seriously, I love this! Thank you to everyone who was there and we’ll do it again tomorrow.
Above all else, a skier from Sainte-Julie wouldn’t be there as a tourist.
Of course we want gold. I think we have the team and we have the legs. We have proven that we can do this. The snow was soft, and conditions weren’t ideal, but we kept our cool, and were able to do some good work. We secured our place in the final.
Finishing with my baby in my arms would be the perfect ending for me.
The women also qualified for the relay final.
The competition continues live on Sunday. Jean Patrick Balloux will be on the description, and Marianne Saint Gillet, on the analysis.