U of Ottawa's Shilo Rousseau shines as Canada captures 6 gold medals at World University Winter Games

When Canada last participated in the World University Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. — then called the 1972 Winter Universiade — the team collected one alpine skiing gold and a silver in men's hockey.

Canada surpassed that total on the sixth day of competition at the 2023 FISU Winter World University Games in Lake Placid, and finished with a grand total of 13 medals at the competition that ran from Jan. 11-22.

Canada by the numbers

While Canada has participated in 26 of the 30 universiades — biannual events that showcase the best student-athletes in 12 winter sport disciplines — dating back to 1960, those 13 medals stand as the second-best Canadian result, trailing only the total of 19 won at the 1985 Winter Universiade in Belluno, Italy.

Overall, Canada's six golds trailed only Japan's 21 and South Korea's 12 in this year's Games, and its 13 total medals tied Germany for sixth on the overall medal table behind Japan (49), South Korea (29), France (18), Poland (17) and the United States (17).

Canada now sits tied for 15th on the all-time medal board with 95, and will be aiming to break the century mark when the World University Games head to Torino, Italy in 2025.

Rousseau's medal haul

It's not difficult to pick a Canadian star from these Games, as the University of Ottawa's Shilo Rousseau surpassed the 1972 medal-haul by herself, and was named as flag-bearer for Canada when the competition wrapped with the closing ceremonies on Sunday night.

The biathlete collected two golds and one silver last week, beginning with topping the podium in the women's 12.5-kilometre short individual competition on Jan. 14.

The 22-year-old finished 48.4 seconds ahead of Poland's Barbara Skrobiszewska to secure not only Canada's first medal of the Games, but the first ever Canadian podium finish in biathlon at this level.

While she collapsed in exhaustion in the Mt. Van Hoevenberg snow after crossing the finish line, she had no problems recouping herself four days later for a silver-medal run in the women's 7.5km sprint, finishing 24.1 seconds behind Polish winner Anna Nedza-Kubiniec.

And then just one day later, the Thessalon, Ont., native topped the podium yet again when she won the women's 10km pursuit, finishing 40.1 seconds ahead of Nedza-Kubiniec.

This marks just the fourth time in Canadian history that an athlete has won two gold medals at a single universiade, joining Louis Grenier, Guy Daignault and Susan Auch, who took home a pair of golds apiece in short track speed skating in 1985.

Taking care of business on the ice

Canada was equally impressive on the Olympic Speed Skating Oval, adding six medals throughout last week.

The 24-year-old La Rue — who is part of the Canadian national NextGen short track speed skating team — started his week on Jan. 15 with a bronze medal in the men's 1000-metre, finishing 0.19 seconds behind Japan's Kazuya Yamada — one of 11 athletes who led the Games with four total medals won.

The Saint-Lambert, Que., native won gold in the men's mass start final to close out his week, and he was joined on the podium by Laval teammate Hubert Marcotte, who took bronze in the event.

The two teamed up with Joshua Telizyn of Thompson Rivers University just two days earlier to win bronze in the men's team pursuit in very snowy conditions in the outdoor setting, trailing only Japan and South Korea.

In the women's competition, Salmon Arm, B.C., native Laura Hall of the University of Calgary had perhaps the most impressive individual performance for Canada across any sport.

The 19-year-old Canadian World Cup racing pool member set a track record of 4:25.70 in the women's 3,000m, 2.48 seconds ahead of silver medallist Jiwoo Park of Korea, and 3.40 seconds ahead of bronze-medal winning teammate Rose-Anne Grenier of Laval.

The University of Calgary added another medal on the same day when 21-year-old Elizabeth Anne Filiatrault raced to bronze in the women's ski cross final on nearby Gore Mountain.

While Canada's performance on the outdoor ice was impressive, the Dalhousie University men's curling team also took care of business on the curling sheet at the Saranac Lake Civic Center.

After rattling off six straight wins during the round robin portion of the tournament, Canada lost its last two games of group play and the semifinal match against eventual gold-medal winner Great Britain.

Deadlocked at two against Switzerland in the eighth and final end of the bronze-medal game, the 22-year-old Purcell delivered a must-make shot with Canada's final stone to steal third place.

Back on top of the hockey world

The Canadian women's and men's hockey teams had been a consistent factor for years at the World University Games — the Canadian women had never finished lower the second place in their six times participating since 2009, and the Canadian men boasted 12 straight podium finishes dating back to 1997 in Chonju-Muju, South Korea.

Not only did that change at the legendary Olympic Center in Lake Placid over the weekend, but both Canadian teams did it in convincing fashion.

The Canadian women's team was first to the top of the podium when it dispatched Japan 5-0 on Saturday night with University of New Brunswick goaltender Kendra Woodland securing her third shutout of the Games — a number that matched the total number of goals allowed by Canada in its 7-0 run during the tournament.

University of Montreal's Audrey-Anne Veillette potted the golden goal early in the second period after Japanese goaltender Miyuu Masuhara stood on her head in the opening frame making 15 saves.

Nipissing Lakers forward Maria Dominico paced Canada with a team-leading six goals and 11 points in the tournament, leading a very balanced attack that averaged six goals per game.

The Canadian men's hockey team clinched gold in a 7-2 win over rival United States on Sunday after an undefeated run across seven games, outscoring opponents 48-8 along the way.

As was the case for the entire tournament, the Canadians simply overwhelmed their opponent in the gold-medal game, outshooting the Americans 47-19. Toronto Metropolitan University's Kyle Bollers' goal stood as the winner in the second period off of a gorgeous feed from UPEI's TJ Shea.

While Bollers left for Lake Placid as the leading scorer in U Sports, Brett Davis of the University of Manitoba led the way for Canada in the tournament with seven goals and 12 points.

The gold-medal result put a bow on one of the best performances Canada has ever had in the event, one they'll look to build on not just in 2025, but also the Summer event taking place in Chengdu, China from July 28 to Aug. 8 this year.