Montreal speedskater Laoun finishes second in World Tour’s men’s 500-metre final

VANCOUVER — Jens Van’t Wout of the Netherlands just clipped Maxime Laoun of Montreal to the finish line to win the men’s 500-metre A final at the ISU Short Track World Tour opener in Vancouver on Saturday night.

Van’t Wout was clocked at 40.560, while Laoun posted a time of 40.725 at the Pacific Coliseum.

Furkan Akar of Turkey finished third at 41.334, while five-time Olympic medallist and six-time world champion Steven Dubois of Laval, Que., finished a disappointing fourth at 54.389. Dubois is the reigning world champion in the 500 m event, winning gold at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Games.

Mathieu Pelletier of Laval, Que., finished third in the men’s 500-metre B final, in 41.262. Jongun Rim of Seoul, South Korea, posted the winning time of 40.887, while Kay Huisman of the Netherlands was second at 41.129.

Minjeong Choi of Seoul won the women’s 1,000-metres A final in 1:32.954. Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherland was second in 1:33.074, with Italian Gloria Ioriatti third in 1:33.216.

Canadian Courtney Sarault of Moncton, N.B., who won two silver and two bronze medals at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, won the women’s 1,000-metres B final in 1:33.415. Sukhee Shim of South Korea was second in 1:33.531 and Italian Elisa Confortola was third in 1:33.552.

Van’t Wout won his second event of the night, taking the men’s 1,500 metres A final in 2:20.025. Rim finished second in 2:20.082, while Shogo Miyata of Japan was third in 2:20.188. Felix Roussel of Sherbrooke, Que., finished fifth in 2:20.543.

The Canadian women’s 3,000-metres relay team of Florence Brunelle of Trois-Rivieres, Que., Courtney Sarault of Montreal, Claudia Gagnon of Montreal and Danae Blais of Montreal, finished first in the A final in 4:13.620, edging the Republic of Korea which finished in 4:13.881. The Netherlands was third (4:20.617) and Italy was fourth.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2026.

The Canadian Press