Four years after contemplating a future outside his chosen sport, William Dandjinou just might be the best short-track speedskater in the world.
The 24-year-old Montrealer has every chance to be Canada’s biggest individual sport star at this year’s Winter Olympics, and perhaps even enter the record books, too. It’s quite a change from 2022, when he wondered whether he even wanted to continue in the notoriously chaotic sport after narrowly missing the cut for Canada’s Olympic team.
“You start asking yourself questions like, ‘Am I doing this for the right reasons, am I here because I love the sport or am I just here because I’ve always been kind of good?’ … Just a lot of questioning,” Dandjinou said in a phone interview last month.
“I feel that’s super important in life and as an athlete. We’re not getting paid millions. You have to be super into the sport, but also accept the consequences of being super into the sport. I wanted to be all-in and I had to make sure I was ready to be all-in and in a position where nothing was guaranteed to me. It must have taken two months after that whole process (to make a decision to continue). It was just like I’m ready to skate, no matter what the outcome (would be) — if I do make the Olympics or I don’t.”
Now, not only has Dandjinou made the Olympics, but he’s poised to be a huge force at Milano Cortina 2026.
The six-foot-three Dandjinou advanced in the 1,000-metre heats to open his Olympics on Tuesday before joining Canadian teammates to earn silver in the mixed relay.
Dandjinou could compete in three individual races and two relays at the Olympics. If he hits the podium in all five, he’d tie long-track speedskater Cindy Klassen’s Canadian record (one gold, two silver, two bronze at Turin 2006) for most medals won in a single Olympics. Swimmers Summer McIntosh (2024) and Penny Oleksiak (2016) won four apiece in their biggest years.
“I feel like people want me to put a number out there, but I really don’t know,” said Dandjinou, who won four medals at last year’s world championships and is a back-to-back Crystal Globe winner as World Tour leader.
“Five is not unrealistic, but it’s very ambitious. But I’m a very ambitious guy. I’ll do everything in my control to work on that.”
The bigger number Dandjinou has in mind is seven. That’s the Canadian team goal for total medals at the Olympics, which would surpass the national record of six set in 2002.
Fellow Canadians Courtney Sarault, Kim Boutin and Steven Dubois also are strong medal contenders.
“I feel like we could get 15 medals as a team. I don’t even know if that’s mathematically possible,” Dandjinou said with a chuckle.
Dandjinou isn’t shy about expressing his emotions.
He’s known for his eagle celebration where he flaps his arms like a bird after winning races. But there could be more in store at the Olympics.
“I can’t tell you everything. I feel like the first step is to try to win and then we’ll talk about celebrations,” he said. “But I always have a few tricks up my sleeve. The eagle’s going to stay I feel for my whole career. I always have a few other celebrations I pull out sometimes, but I feel the eagle is my signature move.”
Dandjinou’s father, Alain Dandjinou, didn’t know much about winter sports when he immigrated from the Ivory Coast. But he quickly discovered the passion for skating in Quebec, and wanted his son to experience it.
William was on speedskates as a young child after starting in hockey.
“There are lot of things to like (about skating). The question is what’s not to like,” he said. “On a more basic level, just skating is super cool. I had a chance to go skate with my dad on hockey skates a few weeks ago. You just remember how fun skating is, not necessarily training.
“When you go to a high level, there’s the competition aspect I love but also … the speed we skate at is pretty impressive. The feeling that gives us is amazing. Speedskating is (the) fastest man-propelled sport. We’re not using gravity, we’re not using mechanism, we’re using purely our legs and we’re going very fast but firmly in control.”
Alain Dandjinou, a microbiologist, will travel outside Canada to see his son compete for the first time at the Olympics.
Having his dad there in person is very meaningful for William.
“He followed me throughout my whole career, he knows me more than a lot of my coaches do,” William said. “I feel like he’s always been there. I remember waking up super early for competitions at 5 or 6 in morning because we had to take a bus to competitions all the way on the other side of Quebec.
“… He likes to also leave me my space, and doesn’t want to take credit. But I always tell him you’ve got to take a little credit because we did this together. He didn’t necessarily want to come to the Games because he said ‘I’m probably not going to see you that much and I don’t want to be a a disturbance for you. But I was like, ‘No dad, I really want you to come.’ That touched him a lot and I’m super happy.”
