Lausanne, Switzerland

#ShortTrackSkating

If you keep heading home with silver, gold cannot be far away, as exciting young Short Track Speed Skating prospect Steven Dubois (CAN) proved at the penultimate 2019/20 ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating stop in Dresden, Germany.

After piling up six second-place finishes during the 2019/20 season, including five in a row at January’s ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada, Dubois finally nailed it.

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Steven Dubois (CAN), Hwang Dae Heon (KOR) and Thomas Insuk Hong (USA) at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU) 

And, boy, was he pleased.

“The feeling of winning a gold medal is indescribable,” Dubois told the ISU after grabbing 500m gold in Dresden. “This is definitely the achievement I am most proud of in my career.”

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Steven Dubois (CAN) at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating (GER) 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)

The 22-year-old has completed just two seasons of ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating racing but, following a fine debut in 2018/19 during which he secured three individual bronze medals, a maiden win has long been predicted. The fact he did it in style only added to the prevailing feeling that Canada has a new Short Track Speed Skating star on its hands.

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Hwang Dae Heon (KOR) and Steven Dubois (CAN) at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)

Dubois faced some true sprint royalty in the final in Dresden. But ultimately, being up against the likes of 2018 and 2019 500m ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Champion Hwang Dae Heon (KOR) and the recently crowned Men’s ISU European Short Track Speed Skating 500m winner, Shaolin Sandor Liu (HUN), handed the Canadian the freedom he needed.

“I was laughing before the race. I had nothing to lose. I was fifth on line so I just thought I’d try my best and if I’d get a medal I’d be super happy but if not, as long as I’d tried something, then I’d be happy,” Dubois said.

Three laps from the end, he certainly tried something, jumping from third to first.

“I was just thinking, ’Don’t fall, don’t fall, don’t fall’ in the last lap and then I just yelled,” Dubois recalled. “I didn’t know what to say.”

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Shaolin Sandor Liu (HUN), Steven Dubois (CAN) and Melle van 't Wout (NED) at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating (GER) 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)

Given his form, he may have to work on that victory speech.