Silver lining for St-Gelais at worlds

Misses out on gold for second straight year

in Calgary 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.”

St-Gelais is determined to not take herself too seriously. At the end of the day, life goes on whether she wins or loses. And she skates because she enjoys it, not because anyone is forcing her to compete at the highest level.

“I had fun out there,” she said. “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 StGelais down to the position of runner-up.

Charles Hamelin, St-Gelais’ fiancé, also made public his intention of winning the first world championship overall title of his career. He finished a disappointing eighth but did claim bronze Sunday in his signature distance of the 1,000 metres.

Hamelin is a three-time Olympic champion who expects to reach the podium in virtually every race.

“He’s 33 now, and the other skaters are so young,” St-Gelais said. “So Charles has to adjust the way he skates.”

Hamelin is much like an NHL player changing his game up in his ’30s to extend his career. The mental game is every bit as important as skating fast.

“Charles is still strong, there’s no doubt about that,” St-Gelais said. “But he has to be smarter now and maybe do different things. The other guys know him, so he has to adjust what he’s doing.

“Honestly, I’m proud of him. Maybe he doesn’t see it that way. It’s hard when you’ve been so long on the circuit, and he has to adjust. But he should be proud for being on the podium in the 1,000 metres.”

Samuel Girard, of Ferland-et-Boilleau Que., finished third in the overall rankings on the men’s side after winning silver in the 1,500 metres.

Laurie Blouin sat in fifth pace Saturday after her first run at the 2017 world snowboard championships in sultry Sierra Nevada, Spain.

With zero expectations, the 20-year-old from Stoneham, Que. stomped her final run to claim the world title in snowboard slopestyle. “For the Olympics next year, I’m in a really good position now to make the team,” Blouin said. “It was just like summer shredding out there for me. I wasn’t thinking about results. I didn’t have any pressure. I was just stoked to be out there in those conditions.”

Blouin scored a combined 78 points to win gold. Zoi Sadowki Synnott, of New Zealand, seized silver with 77.5 points. Defending world champion Miyabi Onitsuka, of Japan, claimed bronze with 77.40 points.