Risky strategy pays off in gold for Canada’s Steven Dubois

Steven Dubois of Terrebonne, Que., discussed his winning strategy with CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux, shortly after claiming Olympic gold in the short track speed skating men’s 500-metre race.

Dubois explained the strategy he took in the gold-medal race, opting to go full throttle off the line with the belief his start is superior to that of Dutch skater Melle van ‘t Wout and his younger brother, Jens. From there, Dubois planned to control the four-and-a-half lap race, maintain the lead and slow the pace when necessary.

“This is really my strong point,” Dubois said of his starts. “My best strategy was just to create a little bit of chaos with slowing down the first two corners. And then when I saw that the chaos happened, I just decided to bolt and go for it. And yeah, the strategy worked.”

The win was also meaningful after Dubois suffered an injury to his abductor that took him out of competing for a period this season. 

“You have to build confidence. You have to trust yourself,” he said, noting he sometimes struggles with that.

This time? “I decided to bet on myself.”

-With files from CBC Sports’ Doug Harrison