Canada claims team Crystal Globe, Dandjinou wins 1,000m at short track World Tour finale in Milan
Canadian mixed, men's relay teams earn silver on final day at 2026 Olympic venue
Canadian speed skater William Dandjinou capped his dominant short track World Tour season with another gold while Canada won the team Crystal Globe on Sunday at the finale in Milan, Italy.
The 23-year-old rising star clocked one minute 23.025 seconds in the men's 1,000 metres to beat Italian favourite Pietro Sighel (1:23.119) and South Korea's Jang Sung-woo (1:23.220), claiming his Tour-best eighth individual victory of the season.
Montreal's Dandjinou, the reigning world champion in the distance, made history Saturday by becoming Canada's first-ever overall Crystal Globe winner. He is aiming to make his Olympic debut at Milano Cortina 2026 on the same oval.
WATCH l Dandjinou skates to 1,000m gold in Milan:
Dandjinou finished first overall in both the 1,500m and 1,000m standings, and second in the 500m, winning 10 medals on the season (8 gold, 2 silver).
"The last two weeks have been difficult with the yellow cards and some overall fatigue, so being able to conclude the World Tour with a gold is amazing," Dandjinou said in a release. "Short track is a beautiful sport. You can go up fast and you can go down fast, so you've got to enjoy the moments.
"I wouldn't have predicted that I would win the Crystal Globe at all, but with our team I knew it was possible."
Canada's short trackers won silver medals in the men's 5,000m relay and 2,000m mixed team relay on the final day of competition.
Canada was awarded the inaugural team Crystal Globe, based on the results from every race this season. The Ice Maples topped the final standings with 8,731 points — 1,812 more than second-place finishers Netherlands.
The Canadians raised their season total to 37 medals across six Tour stops, including a record 21 gold.
"It's really incredible to have won the first-ever team Crystal Globe! It was our goal since the beginning of the season and each of us contributed to achieving it," Canadian skater Danaé Blais said. "I think it reflects well on the quality of our training program and the depth of our team."
WATCH l Canadian team, Dandjinou receive Crystal Globes:
Canada's women's and men's relay teams finished the season ranked first overall, while the mixed relay squad placed second overall after a breakthrough season.
Terrebonne, Que.'s Steven Dubois clinched the men's 500m title, with Jordan Pierre-Gilles of Sherbrooke, Que., finishing in a three-way tie for third in the distance.
Blais, of Chateauguay, Que., and Trois-Rivieres, Que., native Florence Brunelle finished third overall in the women's 1,000m and 500m, respectively.
"I'm very proud of the team," Canadian coach Marc Gagnon said. "This year, we started doing things a little differently and working more as a team. All the guys respect each other, which gives them the opportunity to be vulnerable and help each other out. This keeps everyone working as a team, instead of as individuals.
"You give and you receive, and it created good energy. This good spirit gives us momentum for what we've been doing since the beginning of the summer, going for that Crystal Globe."
WATCH l Ice Maples snag silver in men's 5,000m relay:
Canada's mixed relay squad was upgraded from bronze on Sunday after Italy was penalized due to an illegal lane change. Pierre-Gilles, Blais, Florence Brunelle and Félix Roussel posted a time of 2:38.187 for Canada's fourth medal of the season in the event.
The Dutch team topped the podium in 2:38.005, while Japan (2:38.339) was moved up to bronze.
"It was a pretty intense final with a lot of action, but we managed to do our job and it's nice to end the season on the podium," Blais said. "We finished second in the overall standings, which is a really a great improvement for us and something we should be proud of after all the work we've put in together, guys and girls."
WATCH l Canada takes home silver in mixed team relay:
Dandjinou, Pierre-Gilles and Roussel returned to the podium in the men's relay alongside Maxime Laoun with a time of 6:42.878, just 0.06 seconds behind the Italian team.
Kazakhstan (6:46.068) took bronze.
The short track world championships are set for March 14-16 in Beijing.
With files from Speed Skating Canada
