FASTEST START IN 500M DASH FUELS KERSTEN TO FINISH OLYMPICS ON A HIGH

Cornelius Kersten is looking ahead to men’s 1000m on Friday, having recorded his fastest ever start in the 500m sprint.

Posting a time of 35.36 seconds, the 27-year-old finished 25th amongst a competitive men’s 500m field, 1.04 seconds behind China’s Tinya Gao who won gold with a new Olympic record.

Kersten became Team GB’s first long-track speed skater since 1992 in the 1500m on Tuesday - and was even more encouraged today by his speed off the line.

He said: “That’s what we were aiming for today – doing a fast opener and seeing what happens afterwards.

“I had a small slip in the first corner, so I lost a bit of speed there.”

The Olympic debutant will return to the ice once more in the 1000m, this time to skate in his favoured format.

He said: “I’m really looking forward to the 1000m now. I’m feeling snappy, feeling good.

“We’ve got six days until the 1000m so it’s just about zoning into the final details, getting fast, thinking snappy and we’re there.”

“As usual, I’ll listen to a load of Adele and chill out.”

Initially, the 500m contest at the National Speed Skating Oval was held back for ice maintenance, but Kersten was pleased with his focus, remaining dialled in until the very start.

He explained: “You’re really building towards a certain moment, with your focus and the amount of energy that’s going around, and also the amount of excitement.

“If [a delay] happens about six minutes before your race, you need to keep that level of energy and excitement up for twenty, twenty-five minutes.

“It’s harder and in the past I’ve struggled to keep focus but today I managed to keep it together, so I was happy about that.”

Kersten will return to the ice at 8.30am on Friday in the hope of leaving Beijing on high, one day after cheering on his partner Ellia Smeding in the women’s 1000m.