MILAN – Marc Gagnon was in tears when he told the Canadian short-track speedskating team that veteran Steven Dubois would be sidelined for the finals of the 2,000-metre mixed relay in favour of newcomer Félix Roussel Tuesday at the Milan Cortina Games.
Rising star William Dandjinou then took over from his coach and rallied the team, taking Canada to the silver medal at the Milan Ice Skating Arena.
“Immediately, when he saw me, his first reaction was to stand up in the room and say, ‘Guys! It doesn’t matter. That’s the decision.’ And everyone was onboard,” Gagnon recounted, still emotional after having made what he described as the most difficult decision of his young coaching career.
Canada won its quarter-final and semifinal heats before finishing second behind Italy in the final, with Belgium third.
Canada was at the back of the pack late before Kim Boutin sparked a comeback, overtaking Belgium to move the team into contention.
Roussel then climbed into second after a Chinese skater lost balance, but Dandjinou couldn’t close the gap on Italy’s Pietro Sighel, who crossed first to ignite the home crowd.
For their part, the Canadian skaters appeared to hesitate for a moment before starting to celebrate.
“We always want to win gold, so I was asking myself: ‘Are we happy?’ And in the end, we were happy,” Boutin recalled the situation with a laugh.
Gagnon selected Roussel over Dubois for the final so Dandjinou could skate last, a setup the team had trained for with Roussel going immediately before him.
Had Dubois been in the lineup, Dandjinou would have skated third, leaving Dubois to anchor the race.
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“It has nothing to do with Steven, but we could not go with Steven, then Will, and I was convinced that William could make the difference at the end if we needed him to,” Gagnon explained. “I know all the others are capable, but with what I’ve seen of Will today, I knew that he could do it.”
“Strategically, it was – in my opinion – a choice I had to make. And I think that the race (today) has proven me right, since we were not in the lead. We couldn’t escape it. We needed William’s agility,” Gagon reasoned.
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Dubois and Florence Brunelle earned silver after skating in the semifinals and quarterfinals, respectively, earlier in the day.
Gagnon praised Dubois’ professionalism after he accepted the decision to sit out the final without complaint.
“For sure, I helped the team reach the finals, but listen, we are such a strong trio (Dubois, Dandjinou and Roussel) that I had 100 per cent trust in them. It’s just more stressful to experience the finals on the sidelines,” said Dubois, who added a fourth Olympic medal to his collection.
For his part, Roussel was particularly emotional after the race. He injured his back in training two weeks ago, and Gagnon said he had only received the green light from doctors on Sunday.
“Two weeks ago, I thought my Games were over,” said Roussel, admitting he was surprised to get the nod for the finals.
“I found out 10 minutes before the final, and I was super-stressed, because the guys had skated really well in the semifinal. I thought that we were going to go with the same two guys.
“The team never made me feel that it bothered them. Then, once the race started, I felt it was like at practice, like what we’ve done so many times.”
The 24-year-old from Sherbrooke, Que., had served as a practice skater for the women’s team for four years, but has since found his place among the world’s elites.
Boutin now has five career Winter Olympic medals, one fewer than Cindy Klassen for most by a Canadian woman.
This was her first in a team event.
“The relay medals, it’s something I have really been missing,” said the 31-year-old athlete from Sherbrooke, Que., who is competing in her last Olympics. “I really liked how we all skated, and yes, it was a great pleasure.”
The silver is a good start for Canada’s journey at the Milan Ice Skating Arena, where the team is hoping to break its record of six medals set in 2002 at the Salt Lake City Games.
Canada entered the Games as the reigning world champions in the mixed relay, having podiumed three times in four stages of the global World Cup circuit in the fall.
The team finished sixth at the 2022 Beijing Games.
DUBOIS ELIMINATED FROM 1,000
Dubois, a three-time Olympic medallist at the 2022 Beijing Games, was eliminated in the 1,000-metre preliminaries after falling in his heat following contact with Britain’s Niall Treacy. Officials ruled the contact incidental.
Dubois called it a “reality check.”
“I’m not untouchable, even though my worst result this year was a sixth (place) in the 1,000. I got taken out in the first round,” he said.
“I’m going to be super careful in the next round, and I’m going to be super motivated.”
Treacy said the contact occurred after both skaters went for a move.
“Maybe he thought that he had more speed, but I felt like he was a little bit too tight and a little bit too late on the overtake,” Treacy, who also failed to advance, said after the race.
Dandjinou and Roussel, both making their Olympic debuts, advanced by winning their preliminary heats. Roussel posted the fastest time of the round at 1:23.828, while Dandjinou clocked 1:24.672.
On the women’s side, Sarault, Boutin and Brunelle all moved through the 500-metre preliminaries. Sarault and Boutin won their heats, while Brunelle finished second in hers to reach the quarterfinals.
Medals in both individual events will be awarded Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2026.
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