China's Olympic champion Gao Tingyu on way back to top form

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China's Olympic champion Gao Tingyu finished first in the men's 500m Division B with 34.87 seconds at the ongoing Speed Skating World Cup Beijing leg on Friday.

Gao clocked a winning 34.87 seconds in the morning session, improving from 35.02s at the China Cup a week ago in Harbin, which was his first competition in 21 months after his 500m victory at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Gao Tingyu in action during the Speed Skating World Cup men's 500m Division B race in Beijing, China, November 17, 2023. /CFP

"I was at my 70 percent or perhaps 80 percent today. Because I don't have race points from last season so I need to start from Division B," Gao explained. "I will move up to Division A tomorrow. It's good for me to gain more experience."

Racing again at the National Speed Skating Oval brought back memories from Beijing 2022 where Gao became China's first men's Olympic speed skating champion when he won the 500m gold medal with an Olympic record of 34.32 seconds.

"I was so happy to compete here again, hearing the cheers from the spectators and with my family and friends watching from the stands," he said.

"I was half a second slower than my winning result at the Beijing Winter Olympics, but I did my best today," he added.

Gao, 25, went into a long break after the Beijing Games and did not resume training until May this year. He admitted that he needed some time to readjust to the strenuous training.

"It was painful training accompanied with injuries at the beginning," he said.

But once stepping on the ice rink, he "instantly let out all my energies as if it was in my instinct."

"I am coming back, starting afresh," he concluded.

The Beijing leg of the International Skating Union World Cup series runs from November 17 to 19.

(With input from Xinhua)