St-Gelais finds silver lining at skating worlds
Marianne St-Gelais is never one to shy away from letting the world in on her personal goals.
So the modern-day star of the Canadian short-track speedskating team made no secret of her intentions heading into the world championships this weekend in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
St.-Gelais, 27, badly wanted her first world title as the top overall female skater. Instead, she settled for silver for the second year in a row.
But St-Gelais is not about to throw a pity party, especially with the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, less than a year away.
“Yes, I was going for first place overall,” she said Sunday. “So I’m a little bit disappointed coming in second. But I think I did some good things out there, and I’m pretty happy with my results…
“I had fun out there,” she added. “And that was the goal, to be focused and to be sharp but also to have fun. There aren’t going to be many more world championship races for me, so I want to enjoy every single race that I’m doing.”
St-Gelais won silver in Sunday’s 1,000-metre race and silver Saturday in both the 500 metres and 1,500 metres. But Great Britain’s Elise Christie finished just ahead of the Canadian in Sunday’s 3,000 metres to knock St- Gelais down to the position of runner-up.
Charles Hamelin, St- Gelais’s fiance, also made public his intention of winning the first world championship overall title of his career. The three-time Olympic champion finished a disappointing eighth but did claim bronze Sunday in his signature distance, the 1,000 metres.
“He’s 33 now, and the other skaters are so young,” St-Gelais said. “So Charles has to adjust the way he skates.”