SPEED SKATING: Daniel Greig’s Olympic campaign will take the sum total of about 140 seconds.

For the 22-year-old speed skater, who has today been selected to the Australian Olympic Team for Sochi – those will be the most important seconds of his life.

"That 140 seconds is the direct product of my life’s direction for more than the last Olympic cycle," Greig said.

Greig has been selected in the 500m and 1000m Speed Skating events for Sochi – events which will see him race off against one other competitor with the fastest times overall ultimately winning the medals.

Greig had not even stepped into a pair of skates when Australia was last represented in men’s Long Track Speed Skating- colloquially referred to as Speed Skating. Australia’s last male representatives were Phillip Tahmindjis and Danny Kah in Lillehammer 1994.

Greig has thought long and hard about taking his place in history and has a message for all those who will watch him in Sochi:

"I hope that the thought that every millisecond that you are seeing of my race is so carefully planned, practiced, pained and rehearsed just for you just at that instant, will help you to enjoy it just that much more."

Like Vancouver Olympian Sophie Muir, Greig got into the sport through inline skating. A former Junior World Champion in the roller sport, Greig gave it up to follow his dream of going to the Olympics – moving to the Netherlands when he was 17 to learn to ice skate.

After a few frustrating years, Greig went from finding his feet to being one of only five skaters in history to race 500m in 34 seconds before the age of 21. And now he finds himself making his Olympic debut as one of the youngest competitors in Sochi.

“I know I’ll be one of the youngest in Sochi,” Greig said. “I think there is just one guy in the 500m younger than me. But I like being relatively unknown. When I line up to compete, I like that the other competitors are surprised when I do well.”

A knee injury sidelined him for much of 2013, but Greig fought his way back to form and fitness, improving consistently throughout the World Cup campaign to finish with a season’s best ninth place in the final race in Berlin, Germany.

He is confident of continuing in his career towards the 2018 Games in PyeongChang and beyond, knowing he will just continue to improve as he gets older and more experienced.

“I know that if I’ve made these Games, then I can make the next one,” he said. “But I’m concentrating on Sochi now. I definitely want to finish in the top five.”

Sharing his confidence is coach Desly Hill who has earmarked Greig as a “huge medal chance” for 2018.

"For his age he has been top three in the world for some time," Hill said

"He needs these Games to learn and of course with great racing - good results are possible in Sochi also! He is training alongside one of his best mates [27-year-old Michael Mulder of The Netherlands] who is the current World Champion and just equalled the sea level world record and he is improving with him, and he is doing what he has to do to make it possible."

A top five finish is a lofty goal but not out of the question for the determined young athlete who continues Australia’s  proud history in Speed Skating at the Olympic Winter Games, which started with Kenneth Kennedy who was Australia’s first Winter Olympian at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936.

"If he could do three very good races to the best of his ability I'll be happy and the results will be good," Hill said.

"Sprinting is a very cut throat and exciting sport. You can go from 1st-10th in one race and from 10th-1st in the next. It requires extremely good concentration and technical and physical condition has to be at its best. Daniel is doing everything that's possible - he has made huge sacrifices and been super dedicated so I hope he loves every minute in Sochi and shows the world what he can do."

Before Sochi, Greig will compete in the World Sprint Championships in Japan, taking place from 18 – 19 January. Follow Greig’s performances at olympics.com.au and on social media @AUSOlympicTeam.