Just a year ago, William Dandjinou (CAN) was a minor player in Short Track: he had only one senior individual podium to his name (a bronze at the Four Continents 1000m), his three other medals coming in the relay.
By the time he arrived at the Nederlandse Loterij 2024 ISU World Short Track Championships, however, the tall Canadian had become an athlete to respect and fear, having won three individual ISU World Cup gold medals this season.
He capped this rapid ascent on Sunday with his first major title, prevailing in a dramatic 1000m race.
China, meanwhile, capped a terrific weekend with gold in the men’s relay, marking the first World Championship title for superstar Short Track brothers Shaolin and Shaoang Liu (CHN) since they transferred their allegiance to the country from their native Hungary.
Korean clash paves way for Canada victory
Republic of Korea started this weekend as favorites to win the 1000m and 1500m with Hwang Dae Heon (KOR) and Park Ji Won (KOR) having by far the best pedigree in the field.
Unfortunately, the duo were so closely matched they ended up self-destructing. Yesterday, Hwang crashed into Park while attempting a pass in the 1500m final, eliminating them both.
On Sunday, the same thing happened, with Hwang again impeding this season’s Crystal Globe winner late in the race.
It allowed Dandjinou, who was already well positioned, to glide into the lead. Pietro Sighel (ITA) put in a desperate late charge for gold, but was pipped on the line by the smallest of margins. His steadily-improving Italian teammate Luca Spechenhauser grabbed a well-deserved bronze.
William Dandjinou (CAN, right) pipped Pietro Sighel (ITA, left) to the line by the slightest of margins to take 1000m gold. @ISU
Dandjinou’s gold meant that every single individual winner this weekend registered a debut World Championship title win.
It was extra special for the Canadian, who recently lost his grandfather, a proud Irishman.
“Today is St Patrick’s Day so it means a lot, it’s a beautiful day for me with a lot of emotions. I did it for granddad,” he said.
“Yesterday wasn’t my day, I didn’t do good. My mindset today was ‘nothing has changed’. It’s easy to think things are going wrong, but I applied the same recipe today and this time it worked.”
Dandjinou's career has really taken off in the last 12 months as he added the 1000m World title to three ISU World Cup golds . @ISU
Dandjinou is a huge fan of Korean racers, and was surprised how his rivals on the day clashed.
“They [Hwang and Park] are aggressive with each other which is pretty sad because they’re both great skaters.
“My plan was to go in front. I built speed because the Italians weren’t adding too much pressure. Then I made speed.
“I am happy to be World Champion. This season has been crazy, and this is a crazy finish. We have a great team. Any of us can be a World Champion. It is good stimulation for each other.
“I had a great summer, focused on some things, it helped me. I improved in a burst.”
The Italian medallists were also content.
“I got second, but it’s a gold for me,” said Sighel. “It was just difficult for me. Today I really did the best, more than I expected.
“Before the race, I thought the Koreans could do a lot of crashes and fighting. It was very tactical.
“It was a difficult season for me. During the World Cup I didn’t feel good. Europeans was good, but World Champs is another level.”
Pietro Sighel, left, and Luca Spechenhauser, right, made it an Italian double on the podium alongside the victorious Dandjinou. @ISU
Spechenhauser agreed. “It’s an incredible feeling after all the work I put in,” he said. “I am super happy for this.
“One week ago, I was in the hospital, and I did not know if I could come here. I had a little knee injury. So for me it was a good mental challenge, because I could not do my routine like running, weights and I think I did well.
“I did two individual podiums in the World Cup, but you know, Worlds is a different competition.
“It’s a pleasure for me to share the podium with Pietro. I think my head was a little different from the start of this season. Thanks to our mental coach I started to change my mindset, because sometimes you want to give up.”
Liu brothers on song as China takes relay victories
Apart from the women’s relay team – who won gold, as they usually do – it was a disappointing weekend for the Netherlands. They faltered in the mixed relay, which was won by China, with Italy second and USA third.
China enjoyed a successful championships, with victory in the Mixed Relay giving them one of four gold medals this weekend. @ISU
In the men’s relay, the Dutch team also suffered a fall at the crucial moment, which allowed China to grab the Men's title, with Korea second and Poland third.
The Chinese result put the icing on the cake for their squad, who won two individual golds on Saturday courtesy of Sun Long in the 1500m and Lin Xiaojun in the 500m.
The pair combined with the newest editions to the line-up: two-time overall World Champion and double Olympic gold medallist Shaoang Liu and his elder brother, Shaolin, also an Olympic gold medallist and a two-time World Championship title winner.
The quartet did enough to dispatch a classy Korean outfit and retain the 5000m relay world title.
“I’m really happy now,” said Shaolin afterwards.
“The team was amazing. We put the work together, we learnt so much in the past weeks. It was worth it. We were wearing the flag proudly and we are going to sing the national anthem proudly.
“We are really happy for this gold medal, because we could defend our medal.”
Liu brothers Shaolin and Shaoang marked their first World Championships with China with victory in the Men's Relay. @ISU
The Hungarian-born skater, who with brother Shaoang represented the European country until this season, said he would sing the anthem of his new country with pride.
“My voice is not good, but I know the anthem. Our father is Chinese and he taught us the anthem when we were little.
“So I will sing proudly with my team, but I can’t sing it alone. Because I think no one will listen it. I don’t start a karaoke career, just when I’m taking a shower.”
Shaolin signed off with a glowing review of an event that has had an electric atmosphere throughout – and an enticing preview of next season’s event on his home ice.
“The venue, Rotterdam, is amazing,” he said. “Thanks to everyone, it really was good. The next World Championships will be in Beijing.
“Hopefully we can do a better show than Rotterdam. Hopefully next year in Beijing we can defend this medal as well.”
Where to watch
Viewers will be able to watch the Friday, Saturday and Sunday ISU World Short Track Championships sessions via their national broadcaster/channel.
For countries where there are no broadcasters and for the qualification and repechage races, the ISU will offer a live stream on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. You will find the full list on the Where to watch webpage here.
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