Connor Howe skates to 5th in long track Olympic debut on record-setting day

For a time, Connor Howe believed he was ahead in his development as a long track speed skater. More recently, the idea of competing at the Olympics, as soon as Beijing 2022, became a realistic goal.

Such thoughts seemed far off, like a low-chance dream, when a nine-year-old Howe was watching the oval races on television from the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

"But every year it got more likely in my head," the Canmore, Alta., native told Calgary-based writer Scott Cruickshank recently. "It kind of just worked out. I'm pretty happy with where I am."

On Tuesday, Howe was at the Ice Ribbon oval in China's capital, where Canada's top long tracker in the men's 1,500 metres placed fifth.

The 21-year-old was fourth at the bell lap but couldn't make up ground on the top group over the final 400 metres and crossed the finish line in one minute 44.86 seconds.

"A relief, for sure," Howe told Radio-Canada of completing the first of his three scheduled events in Beijing. "It's hard not to get caught up in the excitement and the pressure of the Olympics. "Getting [it] out of the way, I can keep focusing on skating and what I can control."

Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands defended his Winter Games title in an Olympic record 1:43.21, lowering the 1:43.55 set by Dutch teammate Thomas Krol minutes earlier. Derek Parra of the United States held the old mark of 1:43.95 from the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

I've dreamed about this but wasn't so confident as from four years ago.— Kjeld Nuis on retaining his Olympic 1,500-metre title

Nuis, who won his third career Olympic medal, is the first men's repeat champion in the 1,500 since Norway's Johann Olav Koss (1992, '94).

"I can't believe it. I've dreamed about this but wasn't so confident as from four years ago," Nuis told reporters.

Bronze position at halfway mark

A few skaters later, it was Howe's 3-3/4-lap trip around the 400-metre track.

"I saw those quick times [by Nuis and Krol]. It was pretty scary," said Howe. "It also made it fun. I knew I could skate fairly quick, too."

Kim Minseok of South Korea earned bronze in 1:44.24.

Winnipeg's Tyson Langelaar and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu of Sherbrooke, Que., finished 22nd and 23rd, respectively.

Howe, coming off his first individual podium on the World Cup circuit in December, was seventh early on and moved into bronze-medal position at 49.13 seconds through 700 metres with a speed of 54 kilometres per hour.

The converted short tracker — Howe made the switch in 2015 after moving to Calgary — slipped to fourth at 1,100 metres with a lap remaining while his speed had dropped to 51.8 km/h. Howe finished 1.65 seconds behind Nuis, who also boasts a world-record time of 1:40.17, set on March 10, 2019, also in Salt Lake City.

In Olympic speed skating, the competitors race against another athlete but are not racing head to head. Skaters have one round to set the best time in a race against the clock in a time trial format. And unlike other long track events, there are no heats, qualifying rounds or finals.

Howe, who's studying mathematics at the University of Calgary with a minor in urban planning, pre-qualified for the Olympic 1,500 by virtue of his top-eight World Cup standing after four events. On Dec. 11, he clocked 1:42.42 — 13-100ths of a second faster than his previous best — to win a silver medal on his home track in Calgary and climb to third in the standings.

WATCH l Howe captures silver in 1,500m World Cup event:

Connor Howe earns silver in 1,500m World Cup event

3 years ago

Duration 6:22

Canmore, Alta.'s Connor Howe was the runner-up to Joey Mantia in the men's 1,500-metre competition during the ISU Speed Skating World Cup stop in Calgary.

Entering his final lap, Howe was 56-100ths ahead of World Cup leader Joey Mantia and finished second behind the 36-year-old from Ocala, Fla. But the Canadian got a measure of revenge on Tuesday as Mantia placed sixth (1:45.26) in a failed attempt to become the first American to return to the Olympic podium since Parra 20 years ago.

Team pursuit practice 'going really well'

Howe returns to the oval on Sunday at 8 a.m. ET for the men's team pursuit quarter-finals. He will also compete in the men's 1,000 final on Feb. 18 after Canada's coaching staff added the event to his Beijing workload following the six-foot-four athlete's success at the Calgary World Cup stop.

"The team pursuit has been going really well in practice," Howe said. "I think we've done good preparation. The 1,000 metres will be fun, too."

Before embarking on his rookie World Cup season, Howe won the 1,500 at the Canadian long track championships last October. He also medalled twice in the team pursuit alongside Ted-Jan Bloemen and Jordan Belchos.

A year ago, Howe won team pursuit silver at the world single distance championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands, where he was sixth in the 1,500 after a 19th-place performance in 2020.

Back to Nuis, whose time was slightly behind Krol's as he sped around the track in the first half of the race. He upped the ante in the latter stages and overtook Krol by the 1,100m mark.

"It was a hard time to beat but I had some confidence because I won the world championships from him … so I knew I could do it but still, he's a great skater and he really pushed himself," Nuis said.

Added Krol, a 29-year-old aspiring pilot: "After 700 metres I really thought that I could be faster, but I know [Nuis'] weapon is the second lap and it really worked out for him in a good way today. Of course, I knew after 1,100 metres that he was going to beat my time, and you just hope till the end."

The Dutch speed skating team has won six medals at these Games, including three gold.