BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Canada and South Korea both achieved a golden double at the 2025-26 ISU Short Track World Tour season opener in Montreal, Canada on Saturday, while Sun Long secured a bronze for China.

The 2024-25 season Crystal Globe winner William Dandjinou dominated the men's 500m final, finishing first ahead of Italy's Pietro Sighel and compatriot Steven Dubois. China's Lin Xiaojun was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Courtney Sarault lit the home crowd again to win the women's 1,000m gold, with South Korea's Kim Gil-li and Corinne Stoddard of the United States finishing second and third, respectively.

In the men's 1,500m, South Korea's Rim Jong-un claimed gold on his World Tour debut, while his compatriot and veteran Hwang Dae-heon took the silver.

China's Sun and Liu Shaoang both advanced to the final by finishing second in their respective semifinal heats, while Lin was eliminated earlier. During the final, Sun opted for a strategic race, staying with the pack for much of the distance before making a decisive move in the last two laps to secure third place.

South Korea pocketed its second gold of the day in the women's 3,000m relay, with the Netherlands and Canada taking silver and bronze, respectively.

Also serving as the Special Olympic Qualification Classifications (SOQC) for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games, the final rankings will be determined by a skater's three best results across the four World Tour events, which are scheduled for another stop in Montreal next week, and Gdansk of Poland and Dordrecht of the Netherlands in November.

A maximum of three skaters per national or regional Olympic Committee for each distance will earn quota places in the individual events. In the relay events, the eight highest-ranked national or regional Olympic Committees in the men's 5,000m and women's 3,000m relay SOQC will qualify, with a provision for the host country to take a spot if not already in the top eight.

Meanwhile, a maximum of 12 teams will qualify for the mixed team relay, with eligibility extended to national or regional Olympic Committees that have secured at least two quota places per gender. ■