A bad chunk of ice may have cost Courtney Sarault a shot to make Canadian Olympic history.
The short-track speedskater fell in the semifinals of the women’s 1,500 metres on Friday, ending her bid to tie a Canadian record with a fifth medal in a single Olympics.
Sarault, from Moncton, N.B., was sitting second at the time of the crash. The top two advanced to the final.
Interestingly, Dutch star Xandra Velzeboer fell later on the same turn as Sarault. Officials were seen repairing the ice around the falls after the semifinals.
There was another crash on a different turn earlier in the same semifinal.
Velzeboer won gold earlier in the Olympics in the 500 and 1,000 metres.
Sarault will leave Italy with two silver and two bronze medals.
Long-track speedskater Cindy Klassen set the Canadian single-Games record with five medals in 2006 in Turin, Italy.
Meanwhile, Canada’s men’s 5,000-metre relay squad placed last in the four-team final.
The Canadians — made up of William Dandjinou, Steven Dubois, Maxime Laoun and Felix Roussel — fell behind after a botched exchange midway through the race.
They briefly powered back up into second, but another poor exchange late doomed them.
The Netherlands wound up on top with gold, while Korea snagged silver and Italy claimed bronze.
