The two personal-best results for speed skater Daniel Grieg at PyeongChang heralded a new beginning for the talented Victorian who relocated permanently to the Netherlands to pursue his sport.

From Korea, Greig went directly to Chanchung, China for the 49th ISU World Sprint Speed Skating Championships 2018 last weekend, attracting sixty athletes from fifteen countries and regions for a two-day event racing in the 500 metres and 1,000 metres each day.

On Saturday during race day one, Greig clocked an impressive 35.340 seconds in the 500 metres, placing 15th and 1.1107 in the 1,000 metres for 18th position.

Day two saw a similar time for Greig in the 500 metres, clocking 35.46 seconds for 17th place and an improved 1,000m in 1.10.91 for 16th.

"I am reasonably happy with the weekend. I moved up in the rankings a bit since the Games," Greig said. 

"Anytime I can see some relatively improvement it is always nice."

"Also I got to affirm that was closer to the top than my 500m result at the Games (due to bring first pair.) this weekend. I was 0.4X behind the leaders of the 500m races, both of which were won by the Olympic champ. Compared to the 0.8 I had at the Games."
 
Greig finished overall in 16th place after his four events over two days of sprint racing.

Jorien ter Mors (NED) won the women’s whilst Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR) won the men’s overall World Sprint crowns.

The next long track speed skating event is the World Allround Speed Skating Championships in Amsterdam on March 9 and 10.

SPEED SKATING/SHORT TRACK: Australia’s speed skaters have proved once again they can mix it with the best, after a strong showing across all events.

Long track speed skater Daniel Greig perhaps had the most to prove, coming back from what many considered to be career-ending injuries, to claim two personal best results.

Just four years ago the 26-year-old was left with the devastating choice of giving up the sport he loved, or facing months of invasive surgeries and treatments, with no guarantee of a full recovery.

“I’d been in such a rush to make the Sochi Olympics that I ended up wrecking both my knees completely,” Greig said.

“I was really close to quitting, but I’m so glad I didn’t, because not only am I back to full health but I’m competing better than ever.”

The Victorian-born skater who now trains in the Netherlands, claimed a 21st finish in the 500m race, and a 22nd in the 1000m.

“I was super pumped with how I went in the 1000m,” he said. “I equalled my PB and it was just a great race.

“I probably could have shaved off a bit more time but overall it was about as good as I can do and it was really fun.”

In the short track,Olympic debutant Andy Jung proved he is one to watch for the future, after moving through to the semi-final in the 1500m.

“I really enjoyed my whole experience here and I know that I will be back for more,” the 19-year-old said.

“Short track is a tough sport because anything can happen on the day, but I know with a lot of work I can be really competitive next time.”

That’s something echoed by two-time Olympian Deanna Lockett, who got her Games campaign off to a flying start, moving through to the semi-final of the 1500m, and well and truly proving why she’s ranked 7th in the world for that event.

“My first heat of the 1500m felt really good, and I didn’t feel over-awed by the competition at all,” she said.

“I’m really hoping I can go away now and work on a few things so that I’m technically better, and hopefully I can make the 2022 Olympics and make all of Australia proud.”

Katherine Firkin
olympics.com.au

Daniel Greig has made one of the all time come-backs in Speed Skating, making it to his second Olympic Games and smashing his 1000m race, after injuries looked almost certain to end his career.

Just four years ago Greig was faced with the agonising decision of choosing between months of painful rehabilitation or quitting the sport he loved, after suffering extensive damage to both knees.

But today he proved all the sacrifices have been worth It, finishing his 1000m race in just 1:09.99, and ending in 22nd place.

The 26-year-old started from the outside lane, paired with Ignat Golovatsiuk from Belarus.

Greig got off to a quick start, taking a strong lead in the pairing and completing a super fast lap that seemed to be challenging the top three skaters.

“That was good, I’m happy with that skate,” Greig said.

“I really went hard at the start and while I wasn’t able to keep that pace up the whole way through I’m happy that I was competitive.”

The Victorian skater who now lives and trains in the Netherlands, said he’d been building his fitness to peak at the Games.

“I knew that coming into this I was just as fit as the other skaters.

“But of course I knew many of the guys were more experienced than me and that’s something I have to keep working to improve.”

The 1000m was the second and final skate for Greig at these Olympics, and a great way to cap off his remarkable return to the sport.

“After Sochi I really didn’t know if I’d be able to keep going,” he said.

“Things were looking really bad for many months and there were so many times I thought about quitting, so being here and being able to have two strong skates is something I’m definitely proud of.

“I’m always inspired when I see the top skaters compete and I know that I can still improve even more. So now I go away and look at my training and reassess things so I can work out a plan for the next four years.

“There are plenty of guys well into their thirties who are at the top of the sport so I know I have at least one or two more Olympics in me.”

Katherine Firkin
olympics.com.au

Aussie speed skater Daniel Greig has put down a strong skate in the men’s 500m race, posting an impressive time of 35.22 seconds.

The 26-year-old opened the event, paired in the first group with Tsubasa Hasegawa of Japan.

Grieg was quick to start, and looked to be getting the better of Hasegawa, before the Japanese skater pushed ahead.

It came down to the wire, with Hasegawa finishing just narrowly ahead with a time of 35.08 seconds.

“I was happy with that,” Greig said. “It was tough to skate first but that was a much better race for me than I’ve done all season.”

The Netherlands-based athlete went into the race hoping for a top ten finish, but his final result -- 21st out of 36 -- was still an Olympic Personal Best.

Norway's Havard Lorentzen won the gold in a time of 34.41. Lorentzen inched out local skater Kyu Min Cha by 0.01 seconds who won silver, followed by China's Tingyu Gao (+0.24) in bronze.

Greig was +0.81 off the pace, and with less than one second separating the top 26 skaters, the podium finish could have been anyone's.

“At the end of the day I wasn’t far off my goal because it was such close results,” he said. “And if I could have just finished a little stronger I would probably have got there.”

His Olympic campaign is not over yet, with the 1000m event to come on Friday (February 23).

“I’ve actually been doing better at the 1000m this season so I’m looking forward to that,” Grieg said.

“The ice feels good, the venue is fantastic, so you can’t ask for much more.”

Katherine Firkin
olympics.com. au

Four years ago speed skater Daniel Greig hit rock bottom.

In his rush to make the 2014 Games, the then 22-year-old virtually destroyed his knees, and was faced with the agonising task of choosing months of painful rehabilitation, or retirement.

“Most people in my sport don’t come back from injuries like mine,” Greig shrugged. “I should have listened to my body, but I was in such a rush to make the Olympics I didn’t really think about anything else.”

Just months after his Sochi Olympic debut, Greig underwent extensive surgery on both knees, and with his prognosis initially looking bleak, there was just one dream that kept him going.

“If I didn’t have a goal as big as the PyeongChang Olympics I wouldn’t have gone through all the rehab so diligently,” he said.

“The biggest thing about me coming back was getting out of the chronic pain. I just wanted to be pain free again.”
And despite numerous set-backs in his recovery, not only is the 26-year-old pain-free, but he says he’s in the best condition of his life.

“I’ve had a fantastic summer of training with very few issues, so I’m as fit as I can be. I don’t think anyone out there has a massive advantage over me in terms of fitness.

“And I’m content, I feel really good. This time around I’ve got more of a handle on how to balance the life of being an elite sports person and still have time for other things.

“With everything that’s happened I have a different perspective on things now. I spent so much time with doctors and physios and I’ve seen that there are a lot of people who live in pain every single day, so I’m so grateful for having the Olympics to spur my rehabilitation on.”

With almost two weeks until he competes, Greig has been hitting the track, getting used to the ice and settling in to the Olympic Village.

“The venue is fantastic,” he said. “A lot of the skaters think the times are going to be really quick here because the conditions are just really good.”

And as for results, Greig is quietly confident.

“This time I’m going to take my time and really savour the experience.

“When I step on the ice I know it’s the result of four years of hard work, and four years of trying to overcome injuries. This time I’m going to really enjoy my skating.

Greig will compete in the 500m and 1000m Speed Skating events on Days 10 and 14 respectively (19 and 243 February)

Katherine Firkin
olympics.com.au

ersistence and a belief in his ability is starting to pay off for Australia’s only Olympic long track speed skater, Daniel Greig.
 
At the Erfurt World Cup in Germany over the weekend, Greig started putting together his jigsaw puzzle that is speed skating beinning with a 500 metres Division B silver medal on Friday night in 35.62 seconds just .26 behind winner Kjeld Nuis (NED), then a leap into Division A for the 1000 metres with a strong 13th place (1.10.06) on Saturday.  
 
Greig followed up with two Division A races on Sunday, placing 20th in the 500 metres (35.70) before a short break and a 14th in the 1000m (1.10.48).   
 
“This world cup was bitter-sweet,” Greig said.
 
“It was nice to get up the rankings a bit in the 1000m, especially my first 600m splits of the 1000m are looking on point for the Games.”
 
“However, my training has been more 500m focused and that is not clicking yet.  I am, of course, not peaking yet so it still has a chance to come.”
 
The Erfurt World Cup also served as a qualifying event for the World Sprint Championships, which will be held in Changchun, China after the PyeongChang Games on March 3 and 4.
 
“One big positive of moving up into the A division again is that now I get high quality video of all my events for technical analysis,” Greig said.

The 26-year-old relocated to The Netherlands after he finished high school in a switch from inline skating to the ice to pursue his career under Australian coach Desly Hill and her strong squad of athletes.
 
As Greig approaches his second Olympics, Hill is more than happy with his progress.
 
“I'm really enjoying working with him at the moment. We are starting to see the rewards of the hard work and his training group are all flying, so it brings confidence that we are on a good track,” she said.
 
After the first 1000 metre A Division race, Hill was especially impressed with the first 600 metres, saying, “He was 13th in the A with the third fastest to 600 metres. That’s good for his first time back in the A.”
 
The two Sunday races were not as strong as the previous days Hill said.
 
“It was a harder day. Dan did not get a good 500 down then with a small rest they made him do a dope control in between races. He did an OK 1000m but not as good a race as the day before. He will have a rest tomorrow, then ten days training, then to the Games.”

Belinda Noonan
OWIA
 
 

The hard training blocks are now complete for long track speed skater Daniel Grieg as heads towards PyeongChang after one more World Cup in Germany, which his coach Desly Hill says he is primed and ready for.
 
“Daniel is doing well and has already travelled to Erfurt after we just finished our last hard training week before the games,” Hill said. “He has done well in training, is focused and doing his best.”
 
“I'm really enjoying working with him at the moment. We are starting to see the rewards of the hard work and his training group are all flying, so it brings confidence that we are on the good track.”

Greig was selected for PyeongChang in December and will compete in the 500 and 1000 metres.

The final World Cup before the PyeongChang Olympics will be held in Erfurt, Germany from Friday, January 19 to Sunday, January 21 and whilst all Olympic quota spots are now determined, the upcoming competition will serve as qualifying event for quota places at the ISU World Sprint Speed Skating Championships 2018 and ISU World Allround Speed Skating Championships 2018.
 
Daniel Greig races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You can watch Daniel’s LIVE on Eurovision sports TV here, find results on the ISU website here and check OWIA twitter for updates here

Belinda Noonan
OWIA

 

SPEED SKATING: Daniel Greig has won gold in an Australian record time in the men’s 1000m Division B event at the Speed Skating World Cup in Salt Lake City.

The Sochi 2014 Olympian sped to the top place on the podium in a time of 1:08.26; which was 0.45 seconds faster than his own previous national record set prior to Sochi in January 2013.

In what was a very tight race, the 26-year-old finished just 0.14 seconds ahead of Poland’s Konrad Niedzwiedzki in second place and 0.15 seconds ahead of Dai Dai Ntab from the Netherlands in bronze.

Greig said he breathed a sigh of relief when he stood on top of the podium for the first time this season.

“Honestly I was feeling a little down before the race because things really didn’t come easy the days before. I mostly felt relief [after the 1000m],” Greig said.

“It’s definitely helpful for the coming months for my motivation. I didn’t hit my goals in this first round of Worlds Cups, but I can pit a lot of that down to untimely sickness.

“This race was a glimpse of all of the improvements I have made over the summer.”

Greig has jumped up the world rankings and now sits in 25th place for the men’s 1000m, with 36 spots up for grabs for PyeongChang 2018. His victory has also secured him a place on the 1000m Division A start line for the next World Cup in Erfurt in mid-January.

In his two earlier 500m Division B races in Salt Lake, Greig placed 21st and 22nd respectively.

Greig’s Aussie teammate Josh Capponi unfortunately crashed out in the Mass-Start semi-final on Friday before taking to the ice again in today’s 5000m event, where he placed 28th overall in a time of 6.40.40.

Greig and Capponi will now take a break from competition before the Erfurt World Cup in Germany, held 19-21 January 2018.
​
Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

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.

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

Aussie speedsters Daniel Greig and Josh Capponi have recorded some of their best results to date this season at the Calgary Speed Skating World Cup over the weekend.

After heading to the start line under an illness cloud, Greig turned around his performance from last weekend’s Stavanger World Cup to place 19th in the 1000m Division B event and 12th in the 500m B Division.


Greig’s coach Desley Hill said the Sochi 2014 Olympian has bounced back from his slow start to the season and is putting down strong results.


“Dan did his best races in four years and came very close to national records in both the 500m and 1000m,” Hill said.
The 26-year-old was 1.75 seconds off the pace in the Division B 1000m, which Dutchman Hein Otterspeer won in a time of 1:07.14. His 500m time of 34.84 was half a second behind the Division B winner Paul Kulizhnikov from Russia.


Greig’s Aussie teammate and housemate Josh Capponi placed 31st in the 5000m Division B event with a new personal best time of 6:36.81, before finishing 17th in a time of 8:15.16 in the Mass Start semi-final against a “super high level” of competition.


Everything clicked for Capponi in Calgary, and the 22-year-old was stoked with his performance.


“In the week building up to the World Cup I felt like I was skating the best I have in the last 6 weeks,” Capponi said.


“On Thursday it felt like technically everything was coming together and it was probably the best I have ever skated so I went in to the 5000m with confidence.


“Overall I'm happy to be in the 6.30s. 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.”


Hill was pleased with Capponi’s performance, but also made note of how high the standard is this season.


“Josh got his personal record in the 5k but the competition is insanely high,” Hill said.


“Before Olympics in the past, 18 men went under 6:20 [in the 5000m] and you needed 6:27 to qualify for the Games. Now 32 men are under 6:20 and you need 6:15!


“So Josh has to keep working on it.”


The world’s best speed skaters are really turning up the heat, with Russia’s Denis Yuskov recording the second fastest 1500m time in history in Calgary, 0.29 seconds off America’s Shani Davis’s 2009 World Record.


Greig and Capponi will look to bring their best at the fourth and final World Cup in Salt Lake City next weekend.
Full results from the Calgary Speed Skating World Cup are available HERE.


Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

A combination of illness and faulty skates have resulted in a disappointing weekend for Daniel Greig at the second Speed Skating World Cup in Stavanger.
 
The 26-year-old Sochi Olympian arrived in the Norwegian city hoping to find his top speed in the 1000 metre and 500 metre distances following the first World Cup in Heerenveen the week before.
 
However, confined to competing only in the 500 metre after falling ill, Greig finished 14th and 20th in his two division B races and is now ranked 41st overall heading into the next World Cup in Calgary at the beginning of December.
 
“It was a bit of a lost world cup, from a competition point of view,” Greig said.
 
“Most athletes would not have raced if only from the illness. I decided to look at the races more like training opportunities. I went in knowing I was less than sharp.
 
“But I am very glad that I did race if only to find out that I had some defective components in my skates. Much better to find out now than in Calgary next week. That one is more important for me.
 
“Once I am well again I will continue my preparation to that World Cup like I normally would have.”
 
Coach Desly Hill said that it had been a “terrible weekend” for Greig and that new targets have been set ahead of Calgary.
 
“When he did race he raced on broken blades (bridge bearings) and did not notice until after the race,” she said.
 
“So new goals: fix blade, take a deep breath [and] get healthy before the next one.”
 
Up and coming speed skater Josh Capponi, who had a week off to prepare for Calgary, is on a mission to make a Mass Start final and skate the best 5000m he can, according to Hill.
 
“He has big goals and is not afraid to go all out for them. It’s a pleasure to watch him tackle that,” she said.
 
The third Speed Skating World Cup will be held in Calgary, Canada from 1 – 3 December. You can follow the live results at the event website HERE. 

David Barden
OWIA​

Daniel Greig is looking to improve on his stable start to the season as the Speed Skating World Cup circuit hits Stavanger this weekend.
 
The 26-year-old arrives in the Norwegian city after some solid performances at the opening World Cup event in Heerenveen, Netherlands, just under a week ago.
 
Greig finished 14th and 18th in his two 500 metre B races, ranking him in 36th for that distance, while his 1000m race came in at 21st with an overall ranking of 40th.
 
Coach Desly Hill said that the plan this week for Greig was to “just let the transition from hard work into speed come” at Stavanger.
 
“Dan has been busy testing material and technical things the last couple of weeks so this week we just plan on keeping it simple,” she said.
 
“He has done a lot of hard work to this point so [the] plan is to just go skate.
 
“There is no area of his life he did not improve this season so I look forward to him enjoying the rewards from that.”
 
Greig, who made his Olympic debut at the 2014 Sochi Games, is a two-time Junior Inline Skating World Champion and has represented Australia multiple times in the European Inline Cup.
 
“Dan is a pretty amazing guy,” Hill said.
 
“He works two jobs, studies and pushes his body to its limits with skating, he does all that because he enjoys it, there is no area of his life he did not improve this season so I look forward to him enjoying the reward for that”.
 
With the 5000 metre distance and Mass Start not in Stavanger, Josh Capponi will have the opportunity to prepare for the third Speed Skating World Cup in Calgary this December.
 
“Josh really took a step forward in training this season and attitude too,” Hill said.
 
“[He] now gets a week home to prepare well for Calgary where his mission is to make a Mass Start final and skate the best 5000 he can. He has big goals and is not afraid to go all out for them. It’s a pleasure to watch him tackle that.”
 
The second of six Speed Skating World Cups will be held in Stavanger, Norway from 17 – 19 November. You can follow the live results at the event website HERE.

David Barden
OWIA​

Australia’s Daniel Greig says he is in shape but will need to find his top speed after his World Cup outings in the 500 and 1000 metre Speed Skating World Cup in Heerenveen, Netherlands over the weekend.
 
Greig finished 14th and 18th in his two 500m B races, ranking him in 36th for that distance, whilst his 1000m race came in at 21st with a ranking of 40th.
 
“It was a stable start to the season in Heerenveen,” Greig said at the conclusion of the event.
 
“We have been trying some new things with my technique and skate setup lately. The racing shows that my fitness is there but as always with me it will take me a little longer to find my top speed.”
 
“We are building on a better base than we have in previous years, so I am looking forward to coming five weeks.”
 
Coach Desly Hill acknowledged that Greig is, “doing better than normal” for this time of the year and they don’t plan on staying at this level for long.
 
“This weekend we had a pretty unsettled weekend with Dan’s races. The first World Cup always takes a while to settle in and get used to the speed again,” Hill said.
 
Josh Capponi, who races the longer 5000 metre distance and Mass Start, risked it all trying to get to next week’s 10,000m quarter finals World Cup in – ending up 32nd in his 5,000m.
 
“Josh held pace until half way (in the 5000m) but finished in 6.46,” Hill said.
 
The second of six Speed Skating World Cups will be held in Stavenger, Norway from 17 to 19 November.
 
Belinda Noonan
OWIA
 

Australia’s top Speed Skaters move one step closer to qualifying for PeyongChang 2018 this Friday as the World Cup season kicks off in Heerenveen, the Netherlands.

No one is more prepared for the Olympic qualification season to start than Sochi Olympian Daniel Greig.

After a challenging Olympic debut four years ago where he fell in his pet event, the 26-year-old has been putting in the hard yards for the chance to redeem himself at PyeongChang 2018.

“Dan is doing well, he is heading into this World Cup with his best pre-season stats to date so I'm looking forward to it,” said Grieg’s coach Desley Hill.

Fellow Aussie teammate and Greig’s housemate, Josh Capponi, is going into the 2017 World Cup season with the hopes of qualifying for his Olympic debut at PyeongChang.

With a recent personal best under his belt, coach Hill is confident the 22-year-old is ready to put his best skate forward in Heerenveen.

“Josh is also doing well, and last weekend he skated 0.1 off his PB for a 3k so that's a good sign,” she said.

“The World Cups are going to be tough and super competitive so everyone is excited of course.”

Greig and Capponi have five World Cup events between now and the Winter Olympic Games in February.

Qualification for the Games will be based on achieving quota places at the first four World Cup events, so Hill said she has developed a plan to provide the skaters with the best opportunity to secure places for Australia and for the athletes to peak at the right time.

“I see the next four World Cups as stepping stones to where we want to go and plan on seeing the boys do better every time with their best work coming in World Cup 3 and 4.

“World Cup 1 and 2 are important because you gain points for the World Cup classification, which can determine Olympic qualifying and so can times, but the times will usually be best in Calgary or Salt Lake City [in December.”

“World Cup 5 will most importantly be used for the Olympic prep and it's also qualification for the World Championships and gives us quotas for the following season.

“Of course if your ask [the athletes] they want to have an awesome result every race they go in so that's good too.”
Four-time World Champion Inline Skater Hill is confident in the teams’ strategy and preparations.

“We made a plan, we are on track right now and we are looking forward to executing that plan in the next few weeks.”

The first ISU Speed Skating World Cup runs 10-12 November. Live results will be shared on the events website HERE.

Learn more about Olympic Speed Skating HERE.

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

The dream of representing Australia at the Winter Olympics has been the driving force behind Daniel Greig’s decision to swap his beloved rollerblades for the his ice skates.

The Sochi 2014 Olympian is a two-time Junior Inline Skating World Champion and still represents Australia in the European Inline Cup in the Summer, but swaps the sun for the ice just before the Inline World Championships to pursue his Olympic aspirations.

“I used to compete at the Inline World Championships fairly regularly,” Greig said.

“But the problem I have these days is the World Champs are far too close to the ice skating season, so the last few years I have opted out of the World Championships.

“I was a little disappointed I didn’t get to skate the Inline World Championships this year because my results at the European Inline Cup were so good, with a second place, a couple of fifth places, and lots of top-10 places.

“But the downside to that sport for me is that it’s not an Olympic sport and the Olympics is something I had to do.”

The 26-year-old moved from his home in Adelaide straight after high school to pursue his skating passion and got seriously into the ice sport at the age of 20, not too long before the Vancouver 2010 Games.

He quickly realised that over a decade of inline skating transferred to strong results on the ice.

“I wasn’t expecting to qualify for Vancouver but I was at the qualification competition and I missed out on qualifying by six-hundredths of a second.

“At first I wasn’t expecting that but when I saw I was so close it was heartbreaking because perhaps I had set my goals too low but I had no idea what my potential on ice was.”

Four years later the South Australian was not going to let that opportunity slip through his fingers again and he qualified for Sochi in the men’s 500m and 1000m events.

Greig had a character building Olympic debut as he suffered every skater's worst nightmare when he fell in the opening seconds of his first 500m race - his pet event that he won a World Championship medal in just weeks before the Games. He admirably returned to the ice for his second 500m, despite knowing he could not improve his placing of 39th.

A couple of days later, the then 22-year-old put the demons of his 500m race behind him and clocked a great 1000m race, with a really fast 600m split time that showed he had what it took in his pet event. He finished 22nd in the 1000m.
“I had a lot of mixed feeling about Sochi because for the whole four years leading up I was just planning on participating at the Olympics.

“Then after I medaled at the World Championships right before I thought that maybe I could win a medal, so for that whole Olympics I was emotionally torn.

“I can’t honestly say those Olympics were a pleasant experience for me.”

With his Games debut now behind him, the mechanical engineer is more prepared and focused than ever before.

“Above all I am hoping I can go to these Olympics and now I have a fairly good idea at what to expect, I hope I can make it a more pleasant experience for myself and enjoy the racing a bit more.

“I’m not too worried about qualifying for PyeongChang but my goals are that I want to qualify as high as possible for a good seeding.

“It’s not possible for me to train any harder than I did this summer.”

Greig is currently at a training camp in Norway getting used to having his ice skates back on.

“I’m spending a lot of time on the ice getting my technique right. I have to work a bit harder on that than ice skating athletes who have done it their whole lives because my body is used to inline.

“At the start of every season I have to learn a few new things again because they’re not naturally engrained in me, but I always seem to be good at getting faster in January and February which is what I want. I have trust in my process for that.”

The first Speed Skating World Cup is in Heerenveen (NED) on November 10.

Greig will compete at four World Cups across November and December, as per the qualification process for PyeongChang 2018.

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

PYEONGCHANG 2018: There are just 200 days to go until Australia’s finest winter athletes hit the ice and snow for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

To celebrate the milestone the Australian Olympic Committee has launched its dedicated PyeongChang 2018 Team website - http://pyeongchang2018.olympics.com.au/

The site features all the latest news, videos, galleries, athlete information and everything you need to know as Australia builds towards a successful campaign in February, 2018.

“Our athletes continue to focus on their preparations for PyeongChang 2018,” said Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman.

“With just 200 days to go, we are moving into the most critical period in the four-year cycle where athletes need to ensure they qualify.

“Many athletes are currently in Australia competing before they head overseas for the northern hemisphere competitions in the final lead-up to the Winter Games.

“The dedicated website will document each of the athletes journey’s, sharing their stories as they aim for success in just 200 days time.”

The site provides detailed information on the selection process for each sport, detailed venue maps and everything you need to know about each of the Olympic sports.

As each athlete is officially selected onto the Australian Team a full athlete profile will be launched detailing all of their latest news, a detailed biography and snippets you might have never known about some of Australia’s most talented athletes.

As athletes have done for previous Games, we will be taken behind the scenes on their journey’s through athlete blogs that will launch in the coming weeks.

The PyeongChang 2018 schedule is available on the site and during the Games detailed results for each event and Australian athlete will be highlighted.

A dedicated PyeongChang 2018 Australian Olympic Team App will be launched closer to the Games.

Check out the site now>>>
 

Josh Capponi’s outing in the 10,000 metres at the 2017 Sapporo Asian Winter Games proved to be a moment he won’t soon forget with the 22-year old getting the chance to go head-to-head against Olympic gold medallist and event winner Lee Seung-Hoon of Korea.

The emerging athlete considered it a tremendous learning opportunity and rated it his Asian Winter Games highlight.
“For sure he’s an idol,” Capponi said. 

“I was pretty intimidated, but in the end I felt alright because I could race my own race and it was quite an awesome opportunity so I took it with both hands and just went with it.”

The Asian Winter Games men’s 10,000 metres was the first time Capponi has competed at this distance and he finished a credible fifth in the final standings. His time of 14:06.42 was 47.86 seconds off Seung-Hoon’s winning time. 

“The opportunity doesn’t come around very often as they only happen once at World Cups and once at the World Championships. It’s nice to finally have one and now I can work from this,” he said.

Capponi’s race strategy was to stay with the World Champion skater for as long as he could.

“I missed a change and I ended up having to give way to him because the outside lane always has priority so I lost my rhythm and I lost connection with him.

“After that the plan was to stay on my own rhythm, relax and kick in for the last few laps, like I’ve been training for.

“The lap times were a little slower than I wanted. I would have liked 33’s but I was getting 34’s, but I still got that kick in in the end.”

Australia’s sole speed skating competitor at the Sapporo 2017 Asian Winter Games has taken to the ice for the first time, mixing it with some of the best in the sport to come away with a promising result. 

Netherlands-based West Australian born athlete Josh Capponi placed seventh in the 11 strong field of the men’s 5,000 metres on the opening day of competition at the Obihiro Forest Skating Oval.

Capponi raced home in a time of 6:48.37 which was 24 seconds behind gold medallist Lee Seung-hoon of Korea.
The 22-year-old didn’t achieve his goal of setting a new personal best but he was happy with his performance given the times posted by his some of his competitors.

“The guys who finished fifth and sixth are quite a lot faster than me,” Capponi explained.

“Normally they skate 6 minutes 28 seconds and here they skated 6 minutes 40 seconds and 6 minutes 41 seconds, so normally they’re about 16 seconds faster than me but here they were only seven seconds,” he said. 

Capponi was excited to go up against some of the world’s best speed skaters.

“Normally I’m in B group and most of these guys are in A group. The winner is an Olympic champion and there are three or four others who are in the top 24 in the world so the level is quite high.”

The 22-year-old was nervous to be taking on a high calibre field.

“For the start you have to stand perfectly still and I could feel my arms trembling.

“I thought I was going to be recalled back to the start line but I guess I could control it just enough so it was all good.
“Normally I’m racing in B group and that’s not televised. I knew my parents were watching and some other friends and family back home so I felt more pressure.”

Capponi has a rest day today before returning to the ice on Wednesday where he will race a 10,000 metre event for the first time.

“I’ve been really consistent in training over the last two weeks building towards this race so it will be interesting to see what I can do on Wednesday.”

Full results and live streaming of the Asian Winter Games is available on the Sapporo 17 website. 

Michelle Cook

Warm and friendly greetings have been extended to the Australian team as part of the official Asian Winter Games welcome ceremony.
 
The Games, which begin in Sapporo on Sunday 19 February, have attracted 1,200 athletes from 32 countries and it is the first occasion that Australia has received an invitation to participate.
 
Australia joined with delegates from Pakistan and Lebanon to mark its official arrival to the Games and the proceedings included a flag raising ceremony, playing of the national anthems and meet and greet with the Games’ official mascot Ezomon.
 
Australia’s opening ceremony flag bearer Deanna Lockett played an active role, presenting the Sapporo 2017 Organising Committee with a team scarf. In exchange, Lockett accepted a traditional Japanese gift of 1,000 paper cranes which was given to wish the athletes a safe and successful visit to Sapporo. The gift was handcrafted by local children with each crane made one-by-one.
 
Australian Biathlete Jeremy Flanagan was among the group of athletes in attendance and he was excited to make the ceremony having arrived in Sapporo from Kazakhstan the same day.    

Even though it is still early stages, the 21-year-old said the Asian Winter Games was nothing like he had seen before.
 
“Probably the biggest competition I’ve ever seen,” Flanagan said. “At my last event at the World University Games there were eight other Australians, here there’s 30 along with a whole support network. I’ve never had that before.”
 
Flanagan is one of a number of Aussies who are experiencing a multi-sport competition for the first time.
 
“I’m really excited to compete.  Pulling the Australian lycra out of my team bag was awesome.”
 
The Asian Winter Games begins Sunday with Aussies Christian De Oliveira, Nick Masjuk and Mille Bongiorno in action in the Snow Board Giant Slalom.
 

SPEED SKATING: Asian Winter Games athlete Josh Capponi was 18 when he relocated to Holland to further pursue his speed skating ambitions. His parents thought he would stay for six months. That was four years ago.
 
“I’ve only been home 14 weeks in three years, but I’m used to it now,” Capponi said.
 
“I live with (Australian skater) Daniel Greig and two Dutch girls so we’ve kind of got our own little family.”
 
Life in Holland has been a big adjustment for the young Western Australian who has also had to overcome language barriers.  
 
“I didn’t really learn the language at first but in the last two years I’ve picked a lot up. I can understand almost everything and speak Dutch if I need to.”  
 
With World Championships’ and now the Asian Winter Games under his belt, Caponni is etching closer to his ultimate goal of representing Australia at the Olympic Games.
 
“I’m definitely going in a good direction and I think I’m pretty close. I’m on that edge where you either make it or you don’t.
 
“Hopefully my name is on that list in 10 months time.”
 
The emerging skater will compete in the 5,000m and 10,000m events and sees the Asian Winter Games as a good dress rehearsal for the Olympics.  
 
“Pretty awesome to be here,” he said. “The Asians are pretty strong with ice skating especially in long distance and that’s my focus.
 
“It’s nice to be here and I really like Japan so that’s also good."
 
Capponi is Australia’s sole representative in the Asian Winter Games Speed Skating competition. His first event, the 5,000m, is on Monday 22 February. 
 
 Michelle Cook

Daniel Greig will get his first look at the 2018 Olympic track on Friday when he competes at the World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships in Gangneung, South Korea.

Australia’s top long track speed skater has qualified for both the 500m and 1000m event at the Championships, which double as an Olympic Test Event.

However, a back injury after the last World Cup in Berlin has forced Greig to change up his game plan for the two races.

“If you had asked me a week ago before Berlin, my goal for this event would have been quite different,” the 25-year-old said.

“Now my goal is to race two solid, stable races and then look ahead to the World Sprint Speed Skating Championships in Calgary, Canada, in two weeks-time - where I really want to go for it.”

A strong run last weekend saw Greig crack the top-10 in the second 1000m race in Berlin.

He also placed 19th in the A-Division final of the men’s 500m event, 0.93 of a second behind the winner from the host nation.

He since has been forced to take time off the ice due to the injury that flared up after his three races in Germany.
This slight setback has not, however, altered his overall season goals.

“My aim for this season is to keep the results moving forward in the right direction, building all the way to the Olympics, rather than peak at one of these earlier events.

“So far I have hit all my goals for this season.”

With PyeongChang now on the horizon, the South Australian is expecting large crowds at Gangneung Oval and is keen to seeing how his competitors handle the important competition.

“The pressure everyone puts on themselves is a lot higher at this event. It’s interesting to see how my competitors react under increased pressure.

“It’s important you know how to expect them to perform so there are no surprises in the race.”
What is happening off the ice is just as important to Greig as the racing itself.

In a sport where the difference between a gold and silver medal is literally a thousandth of a second, Grieg said he needs to be able to “control all external factors.”

“It will be good to see how the Korean Organising Committee react to different situations and how they run the event.”
“Short track speed skating is won in the preparations.”

The ISU World Single Distances Championships will be held from 9-12 February in Gangneung, South Korea. Greig competes in the 500m event at 8pm AEDT Friday, and the 1000m event at 8.40pm AEDT Saturday.

Long track speed skater Daniel Greig has improved on his Day one performance at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Berlin, placing 18th in the 1000m A Division event.
 
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.
 
The move to the A-Division 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 February 9. This event doubles as the Test Event for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games, to be held at the Gangneung Oval.

Podium one day and back in 20th the next certainly focuses the minds of Long Track Speed Skating athletes and coaches as they search for the minuscule improvements necessary to succeed.

For Australia’s best long track speed skater Daniel Greig, the search for more is on in earnest now, having recovered from the surgery on both knees which kept him from achieving the results he believes are possible.

“I’m coming back,” he says. “I feel fantastic – really fantastic.”

Greig’s desire to succeed is fired by a furnace of self-belief and unrelenting attention to detail, having been told many times that he would not recover sufficiently enough from his surgery and subsequent nerve damage to continue his sport.

Recover he has, making it back into the coveted A Division, which only allows for the top 19 speed skaters from one race to the next, in a sport where less than two tenths of a second (.200) separates 15th place from the podium and four tenths of a second (.400) to 20th place.

“It was a long way back. My sport is extremely competitive at the top and this is the first season (since Sochi) that I’ve been fit again.”

Greig’s season began slowly in B Division at the first World Cup last November in China, placing 22nd then 14th in his favoured 500m, then an improved 7th in Japan before landing second on the podium in Kazakhstan in the third World Cup, which qualified him into the A Division.

By the fourth World Cup in Holland in mid-December, the Dutch-based Aussie had improved 1.26 seconds since his first World Cup (36.34 down to 35.08) and made it into the A Division, placing 15th.  

“I still haven’t quite met my season goal yet,” he said. “I want to get into the top 10 (in A Division).”

In a sport where two, three and four tenths mean a podium or relegation to B Division, attention to detail is paramount.  

“This is how I describe the sport,” Greig said. “If you take any coin and drop it from waist height, the entire A Division has crossed the finish line by the time it takes the coin to hit the ground.”

Greig, a mechanical engineering student, is a very interesting fellow who has a mind for numbers and the spread sheets at hand to back up his research. He and coach Desly Hill apply that research to his training and the highly-sophisticated equipment, race suit engineering and preparation necessary for the fastest men on ice.  (“Do you know the average speed skater in a 500-metre race skates the first 100 metres in the same time as Usain Bolt’s world record 9.6seconds,” Greig says)

The quest to shave off any of the four one-thousandths of second required from his 500m time before the next World Cup in Berlin is largely down to a hard three-week training block, of which he is part-way through.

“After Kazakhstan, I needed a to get in a hard training block for three weeks. I needed more anaerobics to improve the last 100 metres of the 500.”

“The three weeks’ work should hopefully result in point two of a second, but the probability is point one of a second – and that is providing I trained harder than my opponents.”

A couple of recent unofficial test races over 100metres currently ranks Daniel Greig with the fastest time in the world.

“I do feel good,” he admitted. “I feel more at home close to the podium. Being fastest just feels like home and I’m itching to get back racing.”

The disappointment of his Sochi result no longer weighs heavily on a more mature Greig who is entering his physical prime.

I’ve already hit a major goal simply knowing my body is capable. Last time [Sochi] I was racing great but mentally not ready.”

“This is all for another shot at Olympics. If I know there’s a ten percent chance of me winning a medal then I’m going for it.”

Time will tell.  Literally.  

Daniel will compete in the next ISU Speed Skating in Berlin, Germany this weekend. You can watch the races live on the ISU Youtube channel http://www.eurovisionsports.tv/isu/Speed%20Skating/ (emargoes in some territories)

By Belinda Noonan