‘Let’s go, you can do this’: Torch is passed in short-track speedskating

PYEONGCHANG – The torch has been passed.

As Charles Hamelin and Marianne St-Gelais wrap up their Olympic careers at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, they can rest assured Canada’s successful short-track speedskating program is in good hands with rising stars Samuel Girard and Kim Boutin taking over.

READ MORE: Canadian short-track speedskating team ready for Pyeongchang

The youth movement continued Saturday. Girard raced to gold in the men’s 1,000 metres – the only Olympic short-track event in which Hamelin doesn’t own a medal – while Boutin earned her second bronze of the Games in the women’s 1,500.

WATCH: Pyeongchang 2018: Celebrating Korean Lunar New Year on sideline of Olympics

1:40 Pyeongchang 2018: Celebrating Korean Lunar New Year on sideline of Olympics

Hamelin and St-Gelais, competing in their last Olympics, didn’t figure into Saturday’s medal races. St-Gelais was eliminated in her 1,500 semifinal after incurring a penalty in a second straight race, while Hamelin’s disqualification in the 1,000 semi actually advanced Girard into the final.

While the lack of individual results so far in Pyeongchang is disappointing for Hamelin, a three-time Olympic champion and four-time medallist who had set an Olympic record in 1,000 qualifying, and St-Gelais, who owns three Olympic silver medals, Canada’s first couple of short track has shown genuine enthusiasm for their medal-winning teammates, who are both Olympic debutantes.

READ MORE: Canada on track for big Winter Olympics medal haul

St-Gelais, who has described herself as a “mother figure” to Boutin, gave the 23-year-old from Sherbrooke Que., a joyful hug after her second straight third-place finish. After his win, Girard leapt into the pads surrounding the rink at the Gangneung Ice Arena, where Hamelin was waiting to give the 21-year-old from Ferland-et-Boilleau, Que., a playful slap on the helmet.

“Just before the race (Hamelin) said to me, ‘Let’s go, you can do this,”‘ Girard said. “He gave me a tap on the back. We train together, all the team was behind me on this medal.”

“He would have loved to have this medal here, but he’s happy that I’m the one who has it,” Girard added. “It was a nice moment. It’s a bit of passing the torch, it’s a bit of that image.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He would have loved to have this medal here, but he's happy that I'm the one who has it," Girard added. "It was a nice moment. It's a bit of passing the torch, it's a bit of that image."

Canada’s short-track medals on Day 8 of competition put the nation back on track after a lacklustre seventh day, where Canadian athletes were kept off the podium and the news was dominated by curler Rachel Homan’s controversial loss to Denmark.

Homan’s team rebounded Saturday to pick up its first win of the Games with an 11-3 rout of the United States.

Also Saturday, figure skating star Patrick Chan finished ninth in his Olympic swan song, Canada’s men’s hockey team lost a thriller against the Czech Republic, 3-2 in a shootout, and Kevin Koe’s curling team lost 5-2 to Sweden then later 8-6 to Switzerland.

At the halfway point of the Games, Canada sits third in the overall medal standings with 15.

As is often the case with short-track speedskating, the men’s 1,000 final was a chaotic affair with the three competitors behind Girard and silver medallist John-Henry Krueger of the United States
falling to the ice in a tangle.

Girard, who won in a time of one minute 24.65 seconds, skated at the front early in the race, a strategy that can have its risks but proved prudent on Saturday as it allowed him to avoid the crash.

“I don’t want to be there when those things happen,” Girard said. “So I really want to be in the front. That was my plan and I executed pretty well.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I don't want to be there when those things happen," Girard said. "So I really want to be in the front. That was my plan and I executed pretty well."

WATCH: IOC condemns death threats against Canadian Olympic short-track speedskater

1:19 IOC condemns death threats against Canadian Olympic short-track speedskater

Boutin came out of a crowded field of seven competitors in the women’s 1,500 final to take her second bronze in 2:25.834. South Korea’s Choi Minjeong won gold and China’s Li Jinyu skated to silver.

“It’s pretty unbelievable,” Boutin said. “It was a really hard race and it was pretty exciting. I feel like I did pretty well. It was a lot of work behind me, just making the final for me is a big bonus. I did it two times (now) so it’s unbelievable.”

Boutin was subjected to hundreds of threatening social media messages after winning her 500-metre bronze and had to set her online accounts to private. She originally finished fourth in the race, but was promoted to third when Choi was disqualified for interfering with the Canadian.

READ MORE: Kim Boutin receives death threats following her speedskating bronze-medal win

The incident didn’t seem to affect her composure on Saturday as she crossed the line third, eliminating any room for dispute. The Olympics aren’t over yet for Hamelin and St-Gelais. With several short-track events to go, both could go out as medallists.

In fact, Hamelin could even join Cindy Klassen and Clara Hughes as the most decorated Canadian athletes in Olympic history if he reaches the podium in the men’s 500-metres and 5,000-metre relay.

But no matter how the last events play out, Hamelin and St-Gelais will be the past after Pyeongchang, and they like what they see in the future.

“I really wish them well,” St-Gelais said before the Games. “It’s time for the face of short-track to change.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I really wish them well," St-Gelais said before the Games. "It's time for the face of short-track to change."