Canadian Kim Boutin Breaks 500m world record, takes World Cup gold

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This article was published 03/11/2019 (2164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SALT LAKE CITY – Canadian Kim Boutin raced to a world record and gold medal in the women’s 500-metre event on Sunday at the World Cup.

The 24-year-old Boutin became the first female to skate the 500 in under 42 seconds by setting the new mark of 41.936 in her quarterfinal race.

She went on to win the final in 42.336, finishing ahead of China’s Qu Chunyu (42.452) and Lara van Ruijven of the Netherlands (42.858) for gold.

The previous record of 42.335 was set by Elise Christie of Great Britain in 2016.

“I’m the first women to skate the 500 in under 42 seconds and that makes me incredibly happy,” said Boutin.

“After my start, I told myself things were going well, and then I heard the crowd cheering after the first lap and I said ‘this is happening, let’s go.'”

The Sherbrooke, Que., native also helped the Canadian women’s relay squad to a bronze medal alongside Alyson Charles, Claudia Gagnon and Danae Blais. Korea won gold, with China taking silver.

Meanwhile, Charles Hamelin, Steven Dubois, Pascal Dion and Maxime Laoun also earned a bronze medal in the men’s relay, finishing behind Korea and Russia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2019.