Men's team sprint: another gold and a World Record
For the second straight stage this World Cup season, Canada won gold and set a new world record time in the men's team sprint, as Gilmore Junio (Calgary, AB), Alex Boisvert-Lacroix (Sherbrooke, QC), and Vincent De Haître (Cumberland, ON) skated to victory in 1:19.52, ahead of Norway (1:19.84) and the United States (1:20.58).
"My throat's sore, but other than that, the world record feels good," said De Haître, who was sick earlier this week, which affected his results in the 1000m (8th) and the 1500m (19th). "I had a couple of bad races, so my confidence wasn't great, but I knew that as a team, we would do well together and that we would pull this off. I'm glad my teammates believed in me, altough I'm sure no matter who skates for Canada in the team sprint, they would do the job."
"I was really tense before the race," said Boisvert-Lacroix, who was skating in the team sprint event for the first time. "I was afraid I'd be a burden to the team, and I wanted to do well for the guys who were on the bench after skating last weekend (Laurent Dubreuil and Alexandre St-Jean). But it went better, and it was easier that I thought it would be. We'll see if I skate on the team again in two weeks in Calgary, but I'm confident that no matter who is on the team, we will set another world record at the Olympic Oval because the ice is so fast."