Short track speed skater Courtney Sarault ‘really proud’ of third medal at Milano Cortina 2026

Courtney Sarault had really hoped to complete her Olympic medal collection—bronze, silver and gold—on Day 10 at Milano Cortina 2026.

Earlier at these Games, Sarault won short track speed skating bronze in the women’s 500m and silver in the mixed relay. For most of Monday’s 1000m final, a gold looked well within reach for the 25-year-old from Moncton, New Brunswick.

The reigning Crystal Globe winner on the ISU Short Track World Tour held the lead for the first half of the nine-lap race. But in the race’s second half, she slipped to second place and even, momentarily, down to third.

Though she recovered to win the silver medal, her disappointment was evident in the immediate aftermath.

“I feel good now,” said Sarault after the race. “In the moment, I was a little bit down because I feel I made a little error in my last, I think it was maybe three laps or four laps to go.

“I kind of didn’t do the right decision in the heat of the moment. I looked back right after the race and I was like, ‘why did I do that?’ But you know, I skated with heart and I gave everything I had after that.”

It’s still remarkable progress for a skater who finished 11th in the 1000m event at Beijing 2022. Sarault is, in fact, just the third Canadian to medal in this event, following Nathalie Lambert (silver at Lillehammer 1994) and teammate Kim Boutin (silver at PyeongChang 2018).

Boutin, a five-time Olympic medallist herself, was there to celebrate with Sarault at ice level on Monday. She and Sarault are the only Canadian women to win three medals in short track speed skating at one Olympic Games.

With a few minutes’ worth of hindsight, Sarault came to realize that the best may be yet to come.

“My last one was bronze. Silver, so we’re kind of, going up slowly but surely,” said Sarault. “So yeah, I’m really proud of myself.”

There was also good news on the men’s side in short track speed skating on Day 10. The Canadian quartet of William Dandjinou, Maxime Laoun, Steven Dubois and Félix Roussel won their semifinal race in the 5000m relay.

That puts Canada into the four-team A final on Friday, in a great position to bring home another Olympic medal in short track speed skating.

Dandjinou, Dubois, and Laoun were also all victorious in their 500m heats to move onto those quarterfinals on Wednesday.