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Canada, powered by athletes from Quebec’s short track stronghold, has consistently excelled in this fast-paced sport, securing at least three medals at each Winter Games since its introduction in 1992 in Albertville, France.
At the 2022 Beijing Games, Canadian short track athletes clinched four medals, coming second only to perennial powerhouse South Korea, who won five. The standout moment was when 37-year-old Charles Hamelin led his men’s relay team to gold in his final Olympic appearance, bringing his total career medals to six, matching Cindy Klassen’s Canadian Winter Games record.
Despite Hamelin’s retirement shortly after, Canada has emerged as the top short track country globally over the past two years.
The ascent to the summit began during the 2024-25 World Tour, where Canada amassed 37 medals, including 21 golds, across six stops to claim the team Crystal Globe trophy. Subsequently, at the world championships in Beijing, Canadians dominated, winning six out of nine events (including sweeping the men’s golds) and earning a total of 10 medals, with no other nation achieving multiple golds or more than four medals overall.
In the current season, Canada reinforced its supremacy by sweeping all three World Tour Crystal Globes, with Will Dandjinou retaining the men’s overall title, Courtney Sarault securing her first women’s crown, and Canada defending its team championship. Despite the tour being shortened to four stops to accommodate the Olympics, Canadians amassed a world-leading 31 total medals and 15 golds, surpassing second-place South Korea’s 21 medals and nine golds.
Dandjinou and Sarault headline the group of 10 Canadians (five men, five women) set to compete at the Milano-Cortina Olympics, where the Canadian single-Games record of six short track medals, set 25 years ago in Salt Lake City, is under threat.
Of particular interest is 24-year-old Dandjinou, who missed the 2022 Olympic team but is now a favorite for gold in multiple events, aiming to medal in all five open to men. He showcased his talent by clinching three golds at last year’s world championships and excelled on this season’s World Tour with seven golds and one silver in individual competitions.
Sarault, aged 25, is participating in her second Olympics and appears poised for her first podium finishes. Her impressive 11 career world championship medals include a relay gold and individual 1,000m and 1,500m silvers from last year. This season, Sarault claimed five golds, three silvers, and one bronze in solo races.
Another Canadian standout is 28-year-old Steven Dubois, who triumphed with four golds at the 2025 world championships and secured a medal of each color at the 2022 Olympics. Dubois finished third in this season’s World Tour men’s overall points standings with five individual medals.
The short track events kick off in Milan on Tuesday with the women’s 500m qualifying heats at 4:30 a.m. ET and the men’s 1,000m heats at 5:10 a.m. ET. The medal rounds for these events will take place on Thursday.
The mixed relay will be the first event offering medals on Tuesday, with Canada being a strong contender alongside the Netherlands and South Korea after finishing third in the World Tour standings this season.
Beginning with the quarterfinal