CANADIANS SKATE THEIR WAY TO OLYMPICS

Canada’s men and women relay teams unofficially but mathematically qualified for the 2018 Olympic Games on Sunday with a third- and fourth-place finish respectively at a World Cup event. Also, Kim Boutin and Marianne St- Gelais finished 1-2 in the women’s 1,000 metres on the last day of the ISU World Cup short-track speedskating stage in Shanghai, China. The Canadian men’s relay featured Charles Hamelin from Sainte-Julie, Que., Samuel Girard from Ferland-et-Boilleau, Que., Charle Cournoyer from Boucherville, Que., and Mont- real’s Pascal Dion. Francois Hamelin, from Sainte-Julie, skated in earlier rounds this weekend. The women’s relay team, comprised of Boutin from Sherbrooke, Que., St- Gelais from Saint-Felicien, Que., Kasandra Bradette, also from Saint-Felicien, and Jamie Macdonald from Fort St. James, B.C. on Sunday, and which included Valerie Maltais from Saguenay, Que., in earlier rounds, was penalized in the A final and finished fourth. However, both teams appear qualified based on the points from the first three World Cup stages.