Golden night for Canada's short-track skaters
Last Updated: Saturday, February 27, 2010 | 8:00 AM ET
By Brandon Hicks, CBC Sports
The Canadian men's short-track speedskating team won three medals on Friday, including two gold. (Tara Walton/Canadian Press)Charles Hamelin, Canada's best short-track speedskater, wanted to be on the podium with his brother François before the Olympics ended. That dream looked dashed after they both missed a medal in the men's 1,500-metre final earlier at the Vancouver Games.
On Friday, the brothers didn't just stand on the podium together. They were on the top step.
The Hamelins, from Sainte-Julie, Que., along with the rest of the men's short-track team, blew the top off the Pacific Coliseum by winning two gold medals and a bronze during the final night of competition.
Along with teammates Olivier Jean, of Lachenaie, Que., and Montreal's François-Louis Tremblay, the brothers got to hear O Canada play after the four won a near-flawless 5,000-metre relay victory.
It was Charles Hamelin's second gold of the night after he won a wild men's 500-metre final that saw Tremblay pick up a bronze.
"My goal was to bring back home one individual medal and one team medal," Charles Hamelin said. "Two gold is the best I could have dreamed of."
Coming into the final day of short-track competition, the powerhouse Canadian team was facing heavy criticism for its performance so far at the Games, with only two medals (both silver) to its credit, none won by the men.
So when Hamelin and Tremblay stepped to the line during the 500-metre final, many were wondering if it would be a repeat of the disastrous 1,500 final that saw the Hamelin brothers shut out of a medal.
Rocking the podium
There was no shutout this time around. At the final turn, Hamelin made a daring pass on the inside as Sung Si-Bak of South Korea lost an edge and tumbled into the padded wall.
Tremblay crashed at that turn too, after American Apolo Anton Ohno tried to make a tight pass on him for third.
A stumbling Hamelin crossed the line first, followed by Ohno, and then a sliding Sung. There wasn't a lot jubilation in the Coliseum as many, including the referees, tried to sort out what happened.
That quickly changed when the final results were shown. Hamelin won gold and Ohno was disqualified for impeding Tremblay, who was bumped up to the bronze-medal spot, while Sung took silver.
It was a result that was wild but not very surprising, as Hamelin came into the Games as a heavy favourite to win a gold medal.
But the relay? That's a different story.
The Canadian men were expected to battle for silver or bronze with the Chinese and Americans, as many experts thought the South Koreans were just too strong to be toppled.
Tremblay, Jean, and the Hamelin brothers had other ideas. And they had a plan, which is why they asked TV crews, both Canadian and otherwise, to stop filming them while they practised a revamped strategy on Thursday for the 5,000.
Perfect strategy
And they did it for good reason — coaches will probably show video of Canada's 5,000 relay in short-track training centres around the world as an example of perfect race strategy.
Right from the gun, the Canadian men guessed exactly what the other teams would do and took advantage of it.
The Chinese team jumped out in front, trying to set the pace. The Canadians made sure to tuck themselves right behind China, getting a draft and conserving energy. But, more important, they made sure to stay in front of the powerhouse South Koreans.
Several times in the first half of the race, Canadian skaters had chances to pass the Chinese. But instead, they let up and kept China in front, and made sure to slap down any Korean attempt to grab second spot.
With 21 laps left, almost like clockwork, Canada made its move. Tremblay jumped to the front. Now the Chinese were in second, trying to hold off the charging Koreans, who were having trouble of their own from the typically strong-finishing Americans.
Then, the masterstroke. Canada changed up its exchanges with 13 laps to go, so they were now switching skaters on the opposite side of the ice as everyone else.
This completely confounded the rest of the teams, helped Canada avoid traffic and gave the team a big lead heading into the final stretch as the Koreans used too much energy trying to pass the Chinese and hold off the Americans.
At that point, the only thing that could stop Canada winning the gold was, well, Canada. And that almost happened when Charles Hamelin almost lost an edge during the final few laps, tightening the gap between the Canadians and the rest of the pack.
Golden night
But the team held it together, and soon after the Canadians were waving the maple leaf around during a victory lap.
The Canadian short-track team leaves the Games with a much more respectable five medals (two gold, two silver, one bronze), one off its projected total before the Olympics began.
"What we had hoped for was an exceptional day," said Yves Hamelin, the team leader and father of Charles and François. "To have results like that, all the planets have to be aligned. There are often unplanned things that happen in short-track. But today it was our turn and we had good races."
And with 10 gold medals total, Canada now leads the Olympics in that category with two days of competition left, and has tied the best-ever showing by a host nation at the Winter Games. With files from The Canadian Press
