BEIJING 鈥� Charles Hamelin鈥檚 quest for a sixth Olympic medal remains on course.
The Canadian short-track speedskating legend and teammates Maxime Laoun, Steven Dubois and Pascal Dion finished first in their semifinal of the men鈥檚 5,000-metre relay at the Beijing Games on Friday.
A podium finish in Wednesday鈥檚 title race would tie the 37-year-old Hamelin with long-track speedskater Cindy Klassen for the most ever by a Canadian winter athlete.
"I'll do my job to win it, and I'm sure they will do the same,鈥� said the native of Ste-Julie, Que. 鈥淲e win as a team. We're ready.鈥澛�
Dion added the group is motivated to get their childhood hero onto the podium one more time at his fifth and final Games.
"We'll try our best,鈥� the 27-year-old from Montreal said of the top-ranked Canadians. 鈥淎nd make him, you know, go down in history."
A fourth gold medal also would tie Hamelin with women鈥檚 hockey players Hayley Wickenheiser, Caroline Ouellette and Jayna Hefford for the most podium-topping performances by a Canadian at either the Summer or Winter Games.
There were, however, some nervous moments after Dion and a Chinese competitor touched skate blades, sending the latter careening into the padded wall. Officials decided the sequence was legal, but added China to the final to make it a five-country field that also includes Italy, South Korea and the Russian Olympic Committee.
"The Chinese kid tried to pass me,鈥� Dion said. 鈥淚 just kept my speed, and if he was going to pass me, I would try to make Charles pass on the exchange, but we just had contact with (our) blades. It happens sometimes.
鈥淭here's (no reason for) disqualification. I think it was a good, fair call for the Chinese."
Hamelin said a five-team final is nothing new.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the fourth time in five Olympic Games,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is gonna be up to us to manage the extra skaters and the deteriorating ice conditions.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 part of the game.鈥�
Hamelin added the group, which also includes the 23-year-old Dubois, 25-year-old Laoun and 23-year-old Jordan Pierre-Gilles 鈥� the fifth member 鈥� is one he won鈥檛 forget.
鈥淓ven with the gap of ages in between all of us 鈥� me and all of them 鈥� the bond is pretty special,鈥� he said to laughter. 鈥淚've had a lot of really good teammates, and they're part of it.聽
鈥淭hey will remain family."
Dubois, a native of Terrebonne, Que., who won silver Wednesday in the men鈥檚 1,500 metres, topped his heat in the men鈥檚 500 earlier Friday, while Pierre-Gilles, of Sherbrooke, Que., finished second in his to also advance.
But Montreal鈥檚 Laoun wasn鈥檛 able to join them after blowing a tire in his heat.
"I just fell,鈥� said the Montreal product. 鈥淚 don't know if it's a technique problem or just like the ice breaking under my foot.鈥�
Laoun added it was his responsibility to maintain his focus for the relay.
"I want to be there for all my friends,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here's no point for me to be like, 'I sucked in that race or I didn't do good.' Like for me, it was like, 'OK, I fell. I have the relay in 45 minutes. How can I come back? How can I be there for them?'聽
鈥淥ur team is really strong."
On the women鈥檚 side, Moncton鈥檚 Courtney Sarault and Montreal鈥檚 Alyson Charles both failed to advance to the semifinals of the 1,000 metres.
Sarault, 21, was third in her quarterfinal, while Charles, 23, finished fifth in her race.
鈥淚t's not like me,鈥� Sarault said. 鈥淚 couldn't believe my result.鈥澛�
Charles was equally disappointed in her performance at the Capital Indoor Stadium, which hosted volleyball at the 2008 Summer Olympics and is doubling as the figure skating venue in 2022.
鈥淚 was physically strong,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I made a mistake, which is not to go in the front early enough.
鈥淎nd then 鈥� it was too late after that.鈥�
Four-time Olympic medallist Kim Boutin, who won bronze in the women鈥檚 500 and was a favourite at 1,000 metres, fell in Wednesday鈥檚 heats and was eliminated. But the 27-year-old from Sherbrooke still has two more podium shots in the 1,500-metre relay.
Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands won gold in a breathtaking final. South Korea鈥檚 Minjeong Choi took silver, while Belgium鈥檚 Hanne Desmet secured bronze.
Canada won five short-track medals four years ago in Pyeongchang, and has four more chances to build on the country鈥檚 two so far in China 鈥� including Hamelin鈥檚 Olympic swansong.
鈥淲e were strong,鈥� he said of Friday鈥檚 performance. 鈥淲e were confident and we were smooth.聽
鈥淲e'll try to repeat in a couple of days in the final."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2022.
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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
