BEIJING — HISTORY FOR HAMELINÌý
History was on the line for speedskater Charles Hamelin. He made it look easy. Hamelin helped Canada win the gold medal in the men's 5,000-metre short track relay. In doing so, he became Canada's most decorated male Winter Olympian, joining long-track speedskater Cindy Klassen as the only other Winter Olympian with a half dozen podium finishes. The 37-year-old short-track legend from Sainte-Julie, Que. won four gold, one silver and one bronze in his five Olympic appearances for Canada.
CANADA MISSES 1,500 FINAL
Canadians Courtney Sarault and Kim Boutin, who had already won a bronze medal in the 500-metre short-track event, had to settle for a skate in the B final of the women's 1,500 after failing to qualify for the A final. Boutin finished third and Sarault finished fourth in the B final, resulting in a 10th and 11th place finish overall. Boutin entered the competition as a medal contender, having won bronze in the event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and silver at the 2019 world championships.
GUSHUE IS THROUGHÌý
It may have been a day off for Brad Gushue, but that didn't stop the curling rink from clinching a playoff spot when other results went Canada's way. Gushue (5-3) advanced to the semifinal after losses by Switzerland and Russia guaranteed the Canadian men a top-4 finish. Britain and Sweden also qualified. Gushue faces Britain next to close out the round robin. On the women's side, Canada's Jennifer Jones split her games Wednesday but still had a chance of making the playoffs. She beat American Tabitha Peterson 7-6 in the morning but later dropped an 11-9 extra-end decision to China's Yu Han. Jones carries a 4-4 record into Thursday's round-robin finale against Denmark's Madeleine Dupont.
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CANADA, U.S. SENT PACKING
The Canadian men's hockey team is going home empty-handed after being blanked 2-0 by Sweden in the quarterfinal. Former Carolina Hurricane Lucas Wallmark scored the winner and ex-Edmonton Oiler Anton Lander clinched the game with an empty-net goal for the Swedes, who surrendered just 22 shots. Lars Johanssen picked up the shutout in net. "They just clogged up the middle and didn't really let us get any entry, so they broke the puck out good, and obviously the goalie made some big saves, too," said Canadian defenceman Owen Power. Earlier, Slovakia sent the top-seeded United States crashing out of the tournament with a 3-2 shootout victory. In other quarterfinal action, Russia downed Denmark 3-1 and Finland triumphed over Switzerland 5-1.
KEEPING UP WITH THE BEST
The Canadians stuck with it as long as they could. The duo of Antoine Cyr from Gatineau, Que., and Graham Ritchie of Parry Sound, Ont., refused to give the Norwegians, Finns and Russians — the world's cross-country powerhouses — any breathing room in the men's classic team sprint. Canada was 2.2 seconds behind the leaders by the third exchange. That gap narrowed to 0.8 seconds at the following interval. Those top countries eventually did break away, leaving the Canadians to finish a respectable fifth — 18 seconds away from a podium finish. It was the best-ever result for Canada in the men's classic team sprint at the Olympics.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2022.
The Canadian Press
