TORONTO — Canada's Marianne St-Gelais has been one of this country's top short-track speedskaters for nearly a decade. She's confident her best years in the sport are still ahead of her.
St-Gelais admitted she felt "a little bit scared" that she had already peaked after turning 25 this year. Women's national team coach Frederic Blackburn told her he felt she was still on the rise and capable of even more success.
"It was really good for me," she said of the conversation. "When he told me that, I had tears in my eyes."
At the time, St-Gelais wondered if she'd be able to achieve her ultimate goal of winning a world title or Olympic gold. She approached this season feeling energized and ready to take her skating to the next level.
St-Gelais started the World Cup campaign on a high last week by winning gold in the 500 metres and adding silver in the 1,000 in Montreal. She's hoping for similar results when Toronto hosts an ISU speedskating event for the first time this week.
A total of 156 athletes from 20 countries are tabbed to compete at the Nov. 6-8 World Cup at MasterCard Centre.
"We want to be good for them," St-Gelais said Tuesday of competing in her home country. "We want to prove to them that we've worked so hard. They're there for us ... no matter what."
St-Gelais, of Saint-Felicien, Que., has three Olympic medals on her resume. She finished second in the 500 and 3,000-metre relay at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and added another relay silver four years later at the Sochi Games.
She has won silver and bronze at the world championships over her career but is still looking to reach the top step of the podium. Blackburn said her decision-making has improved on the ice and she has become more efficient with experience.
"She's really good right now," he said. "But she can skate faster than that."
St-Gelais is one of the anchors of a strong Canadian team that's looking to build on a seven-medal effort last weekend. Charles Hamelin of Sainte-Julie, Que., and Samuel Girard of Ferland-et-Boilleau, Que., were 1-2 in the men's 1,000 and the women's relay team added silver.
Charle Cournoyer of Boucherville, Que., won silver in the 500 and Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, Que., took silver in the 1,500.
The Toronto field will include 2015 world champions Minjeong Choi of South Korea and Sjinkie Knegt of the Netherlands. Other podium contenders include Suk Hee Shim and Kim Alang of South Korea and China's Kexin Fan, Jingnan Shi, Tianyu Han and Dajing Wu.
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