SPEED SKATING: Daniel Greig has saved his best for last at the Berlin World Cup after claiming tenth in the second 1000m event of the weekend.
Having claimed 18th over the same distance on Saturday evening, Greig improved his time by 0.68 seconds finishing in 1:10.24 to claim the top ten finish.
The Sochi 2014 Olympian and PyeongChang 2018 hopeful finished 1.16 seconds behind Kai Verbij of the Netherlands, with Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen of Norway in second and Germany's Nico Ihle claiming third.
The result was Greig's best of the season having only been elevated from Division B to Division A this weekend.
The final World Cup event will be held in Stavanger, Norway in early March.
1000m Race 1
Long track speed skater Daniel Greig has improved on his Day 1 performance at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Berlin, placing 18th in the 1000m A Division event overnight.
This was the Sochi 2014 Olympian’s first appearance in the top division after strong performances at the end of last year saw him advance from the B Division.
Greig placed 11th in the 1000m event at the Astana World Cup in early December, before improving his standing to seventh at the last World Cup in Heerenveen.
Last night’s move to the top tier is a significant stepping stone for Greig, looking to crack the top 10 in both the 500m and 1000m event.
The South Australian’s 1000m time of 1 minute, 10.92 seconds was 2.67 seconds behind The Netherlands’ winner Kjeld Nuis. Silver went to Kai Verbij also from the Netherlands, and bronze was won by Norway’s Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen.
There were less than two seconds separating third and 18th place.
After placing 19th in the 500m A Division event on Friday, Greig was concerned about a niggling injury prior to last night’s race.
“The minor back injury I sustained a couple of weeks ago is still affecting me,” said the 25-year-old before the 1000m event
“Unfortunately the rules state that I have to race here in order to qualify for the World Championship Sprint in Canada later on this season.
“I will just be doing my best with what my body is ready for. My sight is set to be 100% fit again by World Champs in Korea.”
Greig will now turn his attention to the World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships kicking off on the 9th of February. This event doubles as the Test Event for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games, to be held at the Gangneung Oval.
Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au
