Rising stars William Dandjinou and Courtney Sarault were among the selected names for Team Canada’s short track roster for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
Team Canada boasts the leading speed skaters in the world, with Dandjinou and Sarault walking away with the men’s and women’s Crystal Globe awards on this year’s World Tour.
Dandjinou, who has set the rink ablaze over the past two seasons, will be making his debut at the winter showpiece, while Sarault is set to make her second appearance. The 10-member team – five men and women – marks only the second time since Nagano 1998 that Canada could qualify the maximum number of quota spots.
Dandjinou has been a revelation this season to win back-to-back Crystal Globes following eight individual victories on the World Tour. To add to his favourite tag heading into the Olympics, Dandjinou has four gold medals behind his name from the 2024 and 2025 World Championships.
Sarault has been equally impressive to win her maiden overall Crystal Globe, and said: “Qualifying for my second Olympics is really something special, especially because I’m feeling strong and at the top of my game.
“Representing Canada is something I take a lot of pride in and I’m really excited to compete and show the world what I have to give. I’ve changed a lot since Beijing and feel I’m mentally and physically ready going into these Games.”
Team Canada will also call upon the experience of stalwarts such as four-time Olympic medallist Kim Boutin, who features at her third Winter Games.
Steven Dubois will be looking to build on his success at his first Olympics in Beijing 2022 where he walked away with the full set of medals – 5000m relay gold, 1500m silver and 500m bronze.