Short track speed skater Takafumi Nishitani, who will defend his 500-meter Olympic title in Salt Lake City next month, on Monday made his first appearance on the rink since undergoing surgery on his broken left ankle on Dec. 31.
Nishitani joined his national teammates and skated for an hour and a half at a training site in Okaya, Nagano Prefecture, as he resumed preparations for the Feb. 8-24 Games after a three-week injury-forced layoff.