Hiroyasu Shimizu coasted to the men's 500 meters at the Makomanai invitational competition in a meet record Saturday as the two-time Olympic medalist made his debut in the new speedskating season.
Shimizu, who added silver in Salt Lake City to the gold he won in Nagano in 1998, clocked 36.35 seconds in the day's second race for a two-race total of 1 minute, 13.20 seconds, claiming his first win at the Makomanai meet since his last appearance four years ago. Tomonori Kawata finished second in 1:14.10.