Canada’s new speedskating stars bring intelligence to sport, says five-time Olympian

VANCOUVER — Charles Hamelin is Canada’s most decorated short-track speedskater — and he believes those following in his grooves are primed to reach even higher highs.

What sets the nation’s next generation of speedskaters apart, said the six-time Olympic medallist, is their intelligence.

“I was a good speedskater and I did a lot of good things, but I was more like ‘I’m gonna go fast, I’m gonna go fast, and I’m going in front,'” he said. “And now they’re really, really smart.

“I think that’s the biggest evolution of the Canadian short track, being more adaptable in a race and skating smarter and being able to become a winner in different ways.”

Hamelin capped his competitive career with his fourth Olympic gold in the men’s 5,000-metre relay at the 2022 Beijing Games and remains intricately connected with the sport.

The five-time Olympian from Saint-Julie, Que., now coaches young Canadians in Montreal.

“They go way faster than I was going when I was skating at the end of my career,” he said of the country’s current contingent.

“I was able to follow them at the end, and I was able to be with them. And I stepped on the ice with them two years after I retired — I knew I was going to be a drop-off, but the speed they can have, this speed they can go, and how long they can hold that speed, it’s another level than I was able to do.”

Canada won five short-track speedskating medals at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.

Courtney Sarault of Moncton, N.B., captured silver in the women’s 1,000m, bronze in the 500m, bronze in the women’s 3,000m relay and silver in the mixed team relay. Steven Dubois of Lachenaie, Que., took gold in the men’s 500m.

Success continued on the World Cup circuit, with Sarault and Montreal’s William Dandjinou each winning the Crystal Globe as the best overall female and male speedskaters of the season.

“All those guys, they’re ready to race against the world and show what they’re made of and win medals for Canada,” Hamelin said. “So I’m really excited about how well the team goes right now.”

Canadians will get a chance to watch Sarault and Dubois compete in person this month on the ISU Short Track World Tour.

The seven-city tour begins competition in Vancouver, running Friday through Sunday. The Montreal portion takes place Oct. 30 through Nov. 1.

Dandjinou is not competing in either of the Canadian stops as he continues a revamped training plan that will include some long-track competition.

The Vancouver and Montreal events will give people who fell in love with short track during this year’s Olympics a whole new appreciation of the sport, Hamelin said.

“If you liked it on TV, it’s another complete game live at the rink,” he said.

“The feeling of seeing those guys or girls like skating so close to each other, or the way they skate, the speed they have around the track, the speed cannot relate on TV because of the zoom of the camera. But live, you can see how fast they go and how tight the turn is, and you can feel the wind … when the athletes pass.”

Vancouver remains a special place for Hamelin.

It’s where he won his first two Olympic gold medals in the men’s 500m and 5,000m relay, bringing a red-and-white-clad crowd to its feet.

“I just remember the rush of adrenalin and people going crazy in Vancouver,” Hamelin said. “The city, it was just crazy. Like, I remember just a red sea of people in the streets cheering for Canadians. In terms of experience of competition, it was the greatest competition of my career.”

This week’s Short Track World Tour stop will mark the first time Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum has hosted the sport since the 2010 Olympics, and Hamelin believes the city will embrace speedskating once again.

“I would say the crowd that I had in Vancouver was special,” he said. “Yes, it was the Olympics, but the crowd was really special. I never had a crowd like that ever in my career. I think the people in Vancouver show a lot of love and a lot of energy in Pacific Coliseum.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press