Kalyna Roberge of Canada, here leading an earlier heat, won the silver medal in 500 metres at the world short track speed skating event in Sofia on Saturday. (Petar Petrov/Associated Press)

It looks as if François Hamelin learned a little something from his brother Charles's 500-metre gold medal performance at the Vancouver Olympics.

Hamelin, of Sainte-Julie, Que., and François-Louis Tremblay of Alma, Que., claimed silver and bronze respectively as the Canadians grabbed two-thirds of the podium at the men's 500m short-track speed skating world championship in Sofia, Bulgaria on Saturday.

"I'm really pleased with my result," said Hamelin. "It's the first individual medal for me at the world championships, so I'm really happy about it."

Francois captured the silver medal with a time of 41.456 seconds, a mere .073 seconds behind the victor and now world champ, Wenhao Liang of China.

Tremblay claimed his second bronze medal in as many months and finished in a time of 41.526 seconds, just 0.2 seconds slower than his bronze medal winning time in Vancouver.

A veteran of international competition, Tremblay is no stranger to the world championship, having won the 500m gold in 2005 in Beijing and in 2006 in Minneapolis.

Olympic gold medallist Charles Hamelin, of Levis, Que., was unable to match his performance in Vancouver and finished in fourth place, just 0.032 seconds off the podium.

The men's final saw six skaters compete as both Tremblay and Charles Hamelin qualified for the final because of contact made in the semi-final heats.

Later in the semifinal of the men's 5,000-metre relay, Canada was disqualified for bumping with the Chinese.

Two more from the women

In the women's 500m final, Kalyna Roberge, of Saint-Etienne-de-Lauzon, Que., bettered her sixth-place Olympic finish to capture the silver medal with a time of 43.679 seconds.

"A second place today is excellent for me," said Roberge. "I knew everyone would have a fast start, so I wanted to make sure to have a good position off the start and to stay relaxed after, which I did really well."

Roberge, who won the 500m gold at the 2007 world championship in Milan, Italy, fell just 0.06 seconds short of once again becoming world champion. Instead, it was won by the only non-Canadian in the final, China's Meng Wang, who clocked in at 43.619 seconds.

Wang, the most decorated Winter Olympian in China's history, claimed gold in this event for the third time, having also won in 2004 and 2008.

Marianne St-Gelais, of Roberval, Que., took home the bronze with a time of 43.747 seconds in her first world championship appearance.

"Each medal has a different significance," said St-Gelais. "This is my first medal at world championships and I'm really proud of what I did."

Edmonton's Jessica Gregg took fourth.

With files from The Canadian Press