McAnuff With Lots To Takeaway From Fifth Appearance At Short Track Euros
Sean McAnuff (27) marked his return to the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships this weekend with a series of races against the best skaters Europe has to offer after missing out due to injury last season.
McAnuff got things under way with the qualification rounds on the opening day of the event. He was drawn in Heat 3 of the 1500m quarterfinals which turned into a swift affair. Despite crossing the line in sixth, he notched up a season best time of 2:18.158. In the 500m heats, he began from the outside in Heat 9 and ultimately finished in 3rd place with a time of 42.635. It was also Heat 9 for him in the 1000m heats where he ended up coming fourth in a time of 1:31.254.
McAnuff faced in the 1500m and 500m repechage rounds on the second day of the championships. In the 1500m repechage quarterfinals, he just missed out on automatic qualification when he came third in Heat 1. However, his time of 2:20.402 was enough to earn him a small q and another go round in the 1500m repechage semifinals. He fought hard in Heat 1 putting in a great effort to come second in a time of 2:23.162. Unfortunately, he just missed out on advancing to the main session and was classified 24th for the distance. Heat 5 of the 500m repechage quarterfinals did not go according to plan as he collided with another athlete and crashed out of the race. He received a penalty for the incident leaving him ranked 43rd for the distance.
On the last day of racing, McAnuff took on the 1000m repechage quarterfinals. In a tightly fought Heat 2, he placed fifth with a time of 1:28.818 bringing his fifth Europeans to a close.
“I am very proud of my 1500m finish this weekend,” McAnuff said. “I raced smart, fought hard, and didn’t give up! I came out with my best overall finish in what is typically my weakest distance. This was the highlight of the weekend for me. I was also able to give my all in the 1000m and 500m, though I wasn’t able to achieve the results I was striving for due to some mistakes in my racing strategy, I was able to take away a good analysis of how I can improve my weaknesses and that is always a big help in future preparations. Now it’s time to get working in anticipation for World Tour 5 and 6!”
