Olympic champion Steven Dubois is again dwelling in Quebec sporting a large smile after delivering the race he had envisioned for years.
The Canadian short-track velocity skater captured gold within the males’s 500 metres on the Milano–Cortina Winter Olympics, the one particular person Olympic medal lacking from his résumé.
Beginning second on the road, Dubois surged forward virtually instantly, slipping previous Dutch skater Jens van ’t Wout — already a gold medallist within the 1,000 and 1,500 metres — after which managed the race from the entrance.
“I knew I had a greater begin than the primary skater, so I might take him within the first 15 metres,” Dubois stated. “And this skater, the Dutch man, is admittedly, actually good at doing high-speed passing. So I knew if I began tremendous quick and reached some form of hole after which got here again with one other velocity, he might move me.
He rigorously weighed his choices earlier than making his subsequent transfer.
“For that race, it might have been good to return second, and it might have been a reasonably well-determined consequence. However that’s probably not what I had in thoughts,” Dubois stated.
“So I made a decision to start out quick in entrance of him after which decelerate in entrance of him so he can be form of caught behind me and couldn’t create gaps. After which I hoped that it might create some form of chaos behind me — and it did occur.”
A milestone victory
With a Canadian flag draped throughout his shoulders, Dubois’ triumph marked a significant profession milestone — his first particular person Olympic gold medal.
The 28-year-old’s win additionally gave Canada its first short-track gold of the Milano–Cortina Video games and helped the crew lengthen its medal streak within the sport.
The victory got here after a rocky begin to Dubois’ particular person Olympic marketing campaign. He was eradicated within the opening spherical of the lads’s 1,000 metres after a crash and completed sixth within the 1,500 metres.
“I fell within the first race of the thousand metres,” Dubois stated. “I used to be so excited to race the thousand. I used to be so in form, and I used to be getting back from a win at world championships final yr. So I used to be pumped to lastly try this distance.”
Resetting his mindset
After that setback, Dubois targeted on having fun with the Video games and spending time with household, which helped him method the 500-metre race with a contemporary mindset.
“I loved my Video games a lot,” he stated. “I didn’t put an excessive amount of strain on myself coming in — besides perhaps the day of the five hundred metres. I informed everybody I wished to win, and it was actually traumatic.
“However the mindset I had coming in was that I wished to take pleasure in it and spend the time, and simply have a look at all the pieces round me, spend time with individuals and benefit from the Video games.”
Dubois additionally helped Canada win a silver medal within the blended relay earlier within the competitors.
Wanting forward
Away from the ice, Dubois plans to start out biology courses at Université de Montréal, with hopes of finally getting into optometry faculty.
His aggressive future stays open.
“It’s nonetheless one thing I’m discussing with my coach,” he stated. “However I’ll be on the ice subsequent yr for certain.”