The World Cup short track team is an interesting mix of veterans and youth
Canada’s short track speed skating team will consist of seasoned Olympians and rising talent at the first four World Cups of the 2014-15 season.
Olympic medallists Charles Hamelin, Marianne St-Gelais, Valérie Maltais and Charle Cournoyer are the names you know. Yet the season after an Olympic Games presents an opportunity for younger athletes to step up and Speed Skating Canada is clearly making this an objective. Of note, World Junior Championships relay medallists Kim Boutin, Joanie Gervais, Namasthée Harris-Gauthier and Audrey Phaneuf are in, along with 18 year-old 500m silver medallist Samuel Girard.
Two versions of a 12-member World Cup team (six men and six women) have been identified. One will travel to the first two stops in Salt Lake City and Montreal. The second will pick-up and carry on to Seoul and Shanghai. Team members will vary but Marianne St-Gelais, Kim Boutin, Joanie Gervais, Charle Cournoyer, Patrick Duffy, Samuel Girard and Charles Hamelin will attend all four.
“The beginning of this new Olympic cycle and the decision of some of our veterans to take an extended break from international competition will allow us to evaluate the younger skaters and give them an added experience, which will be benefit them in the long term, including for the 2022 Olympic Games,” said men’s short track head coach Derrick Campbell in a release.
The season’s first stop in Salt Lake City is November 7 to 9.
