Kim Boutin

Kim Boutin (French pronunciation: ​[butɛ̃]; born December 16, 1994) is a Canadian short track speed skater. Boutin won silver in the 1,000 m and bronze in the 500 m and 1,500 m events at the 2018 Winter Olympics at Pyeonchang, Korea. She was the first Canadian female short track speed skater to win three individual Olympic medals in a single Olympics and the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic medal in the 1,500 m.[2] As a result of her three medal performance she was named the flag bearer for Canada at the closing ceremonies for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Boutin has also won junior and senior world championship and World Cup medals.[3][4]

Kim Boutin
Boutin in 2017
Personal information
NationalityCanadian
Born (1994-12-16) December 16, 1994
Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)[1]
Sport
CountryCanada
SportShort track speed skating
Event(s)500 m, 1000 m1500 m
ClubCPV Sherbrooke
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)500 m: 41.936 WR (2019)
1000 m: 1:29.372 (2016)
1500 m: 2:20.515 (2016)
3000 m: 5:04.760 (2015)

On November 3, 2019, she set a new world-record time of 41.936 seconds in the women's 500m event, becoming the first woman to skate the 500 in under 42 seconds.[5]

Career

2018 Winter Olympics

Boutin participated as part of Canada's team at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[6][7] She came in 4th in the Women's 500 m, but following the judge's disqualification of South Korean Choi Min-jeong who finished 2nd in a photo finish, Boutin was awarded the bronze. Reports initially suggested the disqualification was due to contact with race winner Arianna Fontana, but were later stated to be due to an earlier contact with Boutin.[8] The following day, it was announced that Boutin had been receiving negative comments from South Koreans, including reports of death threats.[9] The Canadian Olympic Committee took the threats very seriously and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were investigating the incidents. It was an emotional and painful experience for the skater and, upon receiving her medal, she was photographed in tears. She said later of it all that "it was pretty tough. I'm a sensitive person."[10]

Boutin started in the 1,500 m heats with the threats still looming over her. She said that "of course, it scared me, and just after my warm-up, I cried. I cried a lot, because I was scared. But I have a pretty awesome team behind me." She would put that fear behind her in the final of the 1,500 m when she skated out in front and led the pack until the second last lap when she was passed by Choi, but hung on for the bronze medal.[11][12][10] This was her second individual medal of the games and made her the first female Canadian short track speed skater to win two individual medals in a single Olympics.[10] Boutin would go on to win silver in the 1,000m race a few days later, earning a medal in all three individual distances.[13] The Canadian team made the relay finals but after being tripped up by the Korean team and the chaos that followed the Canadian women finished off the Olympic relay podium for the first time ever. As a result of her three individual short track medals, the first time ever by a Canadian female short track speed skater, Boutin was named the flag bearer for the closing ceremonies.[14]

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References
  1. "Canadian Olympic Committee profile". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  2. Pete Evans (February 17, 2018). "Samuel Girard becomes Canada's 1st Olympic champion in 1,000m short track". Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  3. "Speed Skating Canada profile". Speed Skating Canada. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  4. "ISU Profile". International Skating Union. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  5. "Kim Boutin sets short track world record in women's 500m in Utah". CBC Sports. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  6. Nichols, Paula (August 30, 2017). "10 short track speed skaters nominated to Team Canada for PyeongChang 2018". www.olympic.ca/. Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  7. "Gold medallist Hamelin to lead Canada's 2018 short-track team". www.sportsnet.ca/. Sportsnet. August 30, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  8. Hyun-woo, Nam (February 14, 2018). "What happened during Choi's disqualification?". The Korea Times.
  9. Carroll, Charlotte (February 14, 2018). "Canadian Speedskater Kim Boutin Receives Death Threats". Sports Illustrated.
  10. "Samuel Girard, Kim Boutin prove Canadian short track's next generation has arrived". CBC Sports. February 17, 2018. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  11. "Short track, Feb. 17: women's 1500m final, men's 1000m final". CBC. February 17, 2018.
  12. "Olympics-Short Track-Women's 1500m finals results". Reuters. February 17, 2018.
  13. https://www.thestar.com/sports/olympics/2018/02/22/canadas-kim-boutin-takes-silver-in-womens-1000m-short-track-speedskating.html
  14. "Kim Boutin named Canada's flag-bearer for closing ceremony". CBC Sports. February 24, 2018. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
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