Canada’s junior short track speed skating team celebrated a successful weekend at the World Junior Championships in Calgary, securing four medals on home ice.

Blainville native, Qi Miao, shone brightly on Saturday, capturing two medals. The 19-year-old claimed bronze in the 1500m before racing to victory in the 500m, following in the footsteps of national teammate Florence Brunelle, who won the event in 2022 and 2023.

“My reaction after winning my first medal was finally!” exclaimed Miao. “I’ve been skating at the junior level for four years now and had never won an individual medal. My expectations were high for this weekend, but my time had come, and I knew I was capable of it.”

Miao’s impressive performance included a new junior world record in the 500m during the first round, clocking in at 43.97 seconds. This record was later broken by fellow Canadian Victoria Jean-Baptiste in the quarterfinals with a time of 42.92 seconds.

On Sunday, Miao added a 7th place finish in the 1000m to her medal haul.

In the men’s competition, Laval’s Mathieu Pelletier seized gold in the 500m. He became the first Canadian to win the junior world title at this distance since Mikhail Choi in 2010, capitalizing on a collision between the two leading skaters in the final stretch.

“Sure, a few things happened in the race that allowed me to win the gold medal, but I’m still proud of my performance,” said Pelletier. “Setting the junior world record in the 500m earlier this season was huge for me, and now to see that I’m capable of winning at the Junior World Championships makes me really proud.”

Victor Chartrand, also from Laval, secured bronze in the 1000m. Despite being pushed by Italy’s Lorenzo Previtali, which cost him speed, Chartrand crossed the finish line in fourth. Previtali’s subsequent disqualification elevated Chartrand to the podium.

“I feel very proud and very happy,” said Chartrand. “Finishing fourth after the incident with the Italian, it wasn’t guaranteed with the officials’ decision, but I had a really good feeling that I was going to get a medal in this distance. It’s good for morale, that’s for sure, and I’ll try to reproduce similar results in a few weeks to conclude my season.”

In the relay events, the Canadian men won the B final, while the women were disqualified in the semifinals. The mixed relay team narrowly missed the podium after a fall in the final.

This strong showing by the young Canadian team highlights the country’s continued strength in short track speed skating and promises a bright future for the sport.

Blainville native, Qi Miao, shone brightly on Saturday, capturing two medals.