William Dandjinou (1st R) of Canada in action during the men’s 1,500m final at the ISU Short Track World Tour in Dordrecht, Netherlands, on Nov. 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)

BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — William Dandjinou of Canada retained the ISU Crystal Globe on Saturday after a dominant season finale at the Optisport Sportboulevard in Dordrecht, Netherlands, cementing his status as a top contender for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games.

Dandjinou secured the overall ISU Short Track World Tour title after winning the men’s 1,500m and claiming silver in the 500m.

After a mid-race battle with local hope Jens van’t Wout in the men’s 1,500m final, the Canadian made a decisive inside pass with four laps to go and cruised to gold with a time of two minutes 16.600 seconds. His teammate Felix Roussel took advantage of the jostling to seize the silver in 2:16.670, while China’s Sun Long powered through for bronze.

“Of course I feel a little bit of relief,” said Dandjinou, who secured three 1,500m World Tour titles out of four this season. “Overall, I’m happy with the way I raced more than the result. The plan was to try new stuff. I’m satisfied with the way I threaded the needle.”

Gold medalist Dandjinou (C), silver medalist Felix Roussel (L) of Canada and bronze medalist Sun Long of China pose for photos during the award ceremony for the men’s 1,500m final. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)

In the men’s 500m, Andrew Heo of the United States capitalized on a series of stumbles and a penalty to the initial race winner, Canada’s Steven Dubois, to claim his first-ever World Tour gold. Dandjinou took silver, while Felix Pigeon of Poland glided to his debut podium with a bronze.

“Starting from sixth, I just tried to get in a good position, because I knew they were going to fight,” said Heo. “I was trying to take advantage, and I was able to execute. It’s my first medal, and for it to be gold is amazing, and it’s good momentum going into the Games. They’re stepping stones – lots of little wins, and this is a big win.”

On the women’s side, Courtney Sarault of Canada took a giant step towards her first Crystal Globe by winning the 1,000m, holding off a late charge from Corinne Stoddard of the United States. Despite the result, Stoddard has not ruled out a late comeback at the Crystal Globe trophy with the 500m and 1,500m races scheduled on Sunday.

“We will see,” Stoddard said. “I was close today and that gives me confidence for tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Hungary finished second in the men’s 5,000m relay semifinals, securing enough points to qualify for Milan-Cortina 2026.  â–