SPEED SKATING: Australia’s top two speed skating athletes will leave no stone unturned at this weekend’s fourth and final World Cup in Salt Lake City.
Daniel Greig and Josh Capponi are on the cusp of securing a speed skating quota place for Australia at PyeongChang and are determined to give the final hit out everything they've got.
Short distance speed skater Greig had a rough start to the season, battling illness at the Stavanger World Cup. However the Sochi Olympian has recovered well and based on his strong performance last weekend in Calgary where he was close the national records in both the 500m and 1000m, he is feeling more confident about his qualifying times.“After recovering from being sick I am pretty satisfied for the moment,” Greig said after his races last weekend.
“Those times [in Calgary] should be safe qualifying for the Olympic Games, which was my main concern with being sick.
“A lot of countries are peaking their athletes to qualify their Olympic spots, something we didn't plan to do because we want me to peak at the Games itself.
“Combining those circumstances put a lot of pressure on me… but hopefully with another week I will have enough shape to try for national records [in Salt Lake City],” he said.
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Long distance speed skater Capponi is aiming to go under the 6.30 mark for his pet event, the 5000m.
“I was on track to go under 6.30 [in Calgary] but let the last three laps go a little,” Capponi said.
“I'm hoping that in Salt Lake I get a more even pairing and someone who pushes me throughout the whole race. That'll really help to bring those last few laps more consistent with the rest of them.”
While cracking the 6.30 time might not secure Capponi a debut Games, it will tick a massive achievement off his list.
“The goal for me this season is to go under 6.30 (the Olympic qualifying time) so hopefully I can sneak under in Salt Lake.
“Even if I get this time I still won't be in the top 24 skaters so unfortunately I won't be able to qualify for the 5km with that time but I'll be satisfied if I can crack the time.
“In 2013 the qualifying time was 6.33 so I'm happy to be so close to that. The general level of everyone has increased a lot in the last four years."
The 22-year-old is still holding out for a chance to secure the qualification time in speed skating’s new Olympic event, the 3000m Mass Start which will debut at PyeongChang.
“I still have a chance to qualify in the Mass Start if I race well enough in Salt Lake so fingers crossed for that."
The Salt Lake City World Cup runs 8-10 December. Live results will be available HERE.
Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au
