MONTREAL – Charles Hamelin and Marianne St-Gelais won again on Saturday at the Canadian senior short track championships— this time in the 500-metre races on Saturday night.

A day after winning the 1,500m races, Hamelin captured the shorter distance in a time of 41.216 seconds. The Sainte-Julie, Que., native beat Guillaume Bastile of Riviere-du-Loup, Que., and Samuel Girard of Gerland-and-Boilleau, Que., who came second and third respectively.

The race didn’t come easy for Hamelin, as Girard had the lead in the middle of the race. Hamelin regained first place a half-a-turn later.

“When I saw Samuel go by, I went into attack mode,” said Hamelin. “When that happens, you have to win back your spot right away, or wait for the right opportunity later on. I was able to make my way back pretty quickly.”

St-Gelais, of Saint-Felicien, Que., won the women’s side with a time of 43.653. Fellow Saint-Felicien native Kasandra Bradette finished in second while Courtney Shmyr of Langley, B.C. took third.

“When I skate in front like that, I don’t really worry about what’s going on behind, I mostly focus on what I have to do, in order to avoid giving opportunities to overtake to the skaters behind me,” said St-Gelais, who skated in front throughout the race.

With the victory on Saturday, St-Gelais has now won six individual medals so far this world cup season.

The event is a qualifier for the world championships in March and two world cups in February.