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Canadian speedskating star Kim Boutin to skip final World Cup stop

DRESDEN, Germany — Canadian short-track speedskater Kim Boutin has withdrawn from the final World Cup stop of the season.
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Speedskater Kim Boutin has withdrawn from the final World Cup stop of the season in a Feb. 11, 2020 story. (Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS)

DRESDEN, Germany — Canadian short-track speedskater Kim Boutin has withdrawn from the final World Cup stop of the season.

The announcement from Speed Skating Canada comes after Boutin won a gold medal in the women’s 500 metres at a World Cup in Dresden on the weekend.

Boutin said in a release that she will head home to Montreal to prepare for the World Short Track Championships in Seoul, South Korea on March 13-15.

Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.) — who has captured three silver and one bronze World Cup medal in individual distances this season — Alyson Charles (Montreal), Danae Blais (Chateauguay, Que.), Claudia Gagnon (Saguenay, La Baie, Que.) and Rikki Doak (Fredericton) will form Canada’s women’s team for this weekend’s World Cup in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

“The World Short Track Championships are the most important event of our season, so I need to be well prepared to perform at my best during that competition,” Boutin said. ”Together with my coaches and support staff, we made the decision that additional rest and time at home would be more valuable for my preparation than competing at the World Cup in the Netherlands.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2020.