An emotional Kim Boutin added to her impressive Olympic short-track speedskating resume with a bronze medal in the women’s 500 metres at the Beijing Games on Monday.
BRONZE FOR BOUTIN
With this medal, @kimbtin ties for #TeamCanada’s most decorated female short track speed skater
: @cbcsports
pic.twitter.com/UZHwK3zWLc— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) February 7, 2022
The native of Sherbrooke, Que., won three medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics — bronze in the 500 and 1,500 and silver in the 1,000 — and got the nod to be Canada’s flag-bearer at the Closing Ceremony.
But there also are terrible memories from four years ago as Boutin received online hate messages and death threats after she was elevated to bronze in the 500 when Korean star Choi Min-jeong was penalized for contact.
“I feel like if we were seeing me eight months ago, I was not that Kim,” Boutin told CBC. “I felt that process, where I am right now. To feel in the eyes of my coaches that I was there. For me, that was the goal — to be happy on the ice, and I was. I’m proud of myself and I’m proud of how they could manage how I was at that time.”
Boutin has said she contemplated quitting the sport after 2018.
Boutin, 27, won a photo finish to place second in her semifinal on Monday, sending her to the final.
Arianna Fontana of Italy won gold for her 10th career Olympic medal, while Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands took silver.
Boutin’s bronze Canada’s fifth medal of the Beijing Olympics — and third on Day 3.
Canada’s Florence Brunelle was penalized for the second time in as many days of competition in the opening 500-metre quarterfinal — which was won by Boutin.
Brunelle, from Trois-Rivieres, Que., made contact with fellow Canadian Alyson Charles on the final turn. Brunelle finished second and was due to advance as a top-two finisher, but she was eliminated on video review with Charles getting a spot in the semifinals. Charles was knocked out in the semis.
Two days earlier, Canada’s bronze in the mixed relay was taken away when the team was penalized for another collision involving Brunelle.
“I’ll just continue to have the mindset to go get it,” a visibly upset Brunelle told CBC. “I think that’s what I’m doing and that’s what I need to continue to do.”
Meanwhile, Canada’s Pascal Dion was eliminated in the men’s 1,000-metre quarterfinals when he lost his footing and crashed. The Montreal native is the top-ranked skater in the event in the World Cup standings this season.
Fellow Canadian Jordan Pierre-Gilles also was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
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