SPEED SKATING: At the end of his second day of competition at the 2013 World Inline Skating Championships, Australia's Daniel Greig has finished with his best result so far, placing 6th in the final of the 500m sprint.

Greig, who is an Olympic hopeful in speed skating for the Sochi 2014 Games, lives and trains in the Netherlands for much of the year and spends time training in his first sport of inline skating.

"The Championships started out really difficult for me," Greig said from Belgium.

"Returning to a scene that I had stepped out of for a few years, I wanted to prove that I could step back in and be just as fast. It was definitely a test of my mental strength trying to focus on little victories, there was a lot to overcome."

The 22-year-old from Melbourne returned to Europe at the end of July after an extended period in Australia doing rehabilitation for a knee injury.

Since returning to his "home away from home" in Holland, he spent three weeks in training camps in preparation for the Inline World Championships, which got underway in Oostende, Belgium last week.

Despite having little preparation for the event, Greig did exactly what he set out to do, proving he is still one of the fastest men in the world on skates.

"I am really having a blast being back in international competition, with the fastest guys in the world," he said.

"Even though I am not skating on blades at the moment every day, I feel like I am learning things that are going to help me go even faster in Sochi."

Some problems with the start of his semi-final in the 500m meant that he was unlucky not to make the four-man final and have a shot at a medal.

Earlier in the week, Greig also made the final of the 200m Time Trial. While he was not able to better his position of 12th from the qualification, he posted a time of 16.845 which he was pleased with, given his less than desirable lead-up to competition. He was also 21st in the 300m Time Trial.

Greig will now switch his focus and training back to the ice as he prepares for the upcoming World Cup season and Olympic qualification.

"My individual events are over now, and even though I haven't come away with a medal around my neck I definitely feel like I will take a lot of valuable things with me towards Sochi," Greig said.

"It's good to know before the ice skating season even starts that my body and mind are already up to the challenge of a gruelling international competition."

Alice Wheeler
@AUSOlympicTeam
olympics.com.au