Japan's Nao Kodaira came second in the women's 500 meters at the speed skating World Cup on Friday, logging 36.81 seconds at the Calgary Olympic Oval for her first sub-37 time over the distance in two seasons.
The 35-year-old 2018 Olympic gold medalist got off to a difficult start to her Olympic season but found her feet in the fourth and final meet of the 2021 World Cup as she bounced back from her sixth- and eighth-place finishes a week ago in Salt Lake City.
"I was skating trying to grasp something in the first 100, 200 meters," said Kodaira, who is fighting back from a groin issue that troubled her last season.