Canadian short-track speedskater Steven Dubois won gold in the men’s 500 metres Wednesday at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Dubois took the lead from the start and was never threatened.
The 28-year-old from Terrebonne, Que., finished in 40.835 seconds, ahead of Dutch brothers Melle van ’t Wout and Jens van ’t Wout, who claimed silver and bronze, respectively.
On his 26th birthday, Melle van’t Wout earned his first medal by finishing just ahead of his brother — who had won both the previous men’s individual events in Milan.
Montreal’s William Dandjinou, a pre-Games favourite in three individual events, started fourth but was assessed a penalty in the final for a reckless passing attempt and did not medal.
It was Dubois’s second medal in Milan Cortina, following the silver he won in the mixed team relay last week. He now has five Olympic medals, with this being his first individual gold.
Maxime Laoun of Montreal fell in the B final and finished eighth overall.
Dubois arrived in Milan as the reigning world champion in the 500 and 1,000 and a three-time medallist at the 2022 Beijing Games.
He had hoped to add a 1,000-metre Olympic medal but fell in the preliminaries earlier in the week.
Canada now has 14 medals at these Games, including four gold.
Short track concludes Friday with medals in the men’s 5,000-metre relay and women’s 1,500 metres.