Lucas Makowsky skated the race of his life Saturday -- and it took nothing short of a record-breaking performance from the man who is atop the speed skating world right now to keep the Canadian from gold.

The 22-year-old from Regina won the first individual World Cup medal of his career, claiming silver in the 1500m event in Hamar.

With teammate and 1500m-specialist Denny Morrison resting and training back in Canada, Makowsky stepped in at the World Cup with a lightning fast time of 1:45.40 to put Canada on the podium.

It is a race that's been good to Makowsky of late. A week earlier, in Heerenveen, Netherlands, he was the fastest Canadian in the 1500m with an 8th place finish.

"Last weekend I had my best race in Europe and all I want to do is build off of that," Makowsky said afterward. "From the gun, I knew it was just going to be go, go, go.

The first lap I didn't extend too much energy, I just contained it really well."
The time was a personal best for Makowsky as he tries to build momentum ahead of the Vancouver Olympics.

"To skate a personal best in Europe is just awesome," he said. "Because typically you always see all the personal bests being skated [on faster ice surfaces] in Calgary and Salt Lake, so to go out here and skate a personal best is definitely a good sign for the coming year."

Skating in the third-last pairing, Makowsky waited for U.S. speed skater Shani Davis to line-up last. Though no other skater could touch the Canadian's lightning-quick time, Davis has been dominant over the first three weeks of the world cup season, turning in one decisive race after another to lead the standings.

Saturday would prove no different as Davis edged Makowsky with a time of 1:44.27. It was the fastest time ever skated on European ice for the 1500m. Norway's Havard Bokko took the bronze with a time of 1:45.61.

The speed skating world has so far marveled at the show Davis is putting on. The U.S. speed skater started the year looking as though he's already in mid-season form. When asked about his strong start, even the American seems surprised.

"I really don't know. I can't assess it really. This is the first time I've ever skated so strong in the beginning of a season," he said. "So I'm not as familiar with it as I would be."

Possibly worrisome for his competitors, the American suggested his race could have been better. "For now I'm strong, but I hope to get stronger," Davis said.

The race bolsters Makowsky's confidence for the Olympic qualifiers in Calgary at the end of December. Though Canadian skaters such as Morrison, of Fort St. John, B.C., have already secured spots on the Olympic team, Makowsky is still fighting for a place on the roster.

Makowsky is coached by Marcel Lacroix who didn't make the trip to Norway in order to train with some of the skaters who returned to Canada. However, Canadian coach Ingrid Paul who was in Hamar said Saturday's race showed Makowsky is likely to secure a spot on the Canadian squad.

"The whole week he's been looking better and better and what he did in the training he executed really well in the race. He skated the turns phenomenally," Paul said. "So if you know you can do this now, you know you can do it later too."

Beating Davis, who many believe is the world's top skater right now, is another challenge altogether.

"Basically, Lucas did the best he could have done. Davis has been ahead of everybody the last three weeks. [Makowsky] is the best of all the other ones," Paul said.

Canadian Mathieu Giroux placed ninth with a time of 1:46.71. The Montreal native is a relative newcomer to long-track speed skating, converting from the short-track circuit before last season.

Though he placed top ten, Giroux figured his race could have gone smoother. "That race wasn't really perfect. I could have been a lot better than that," he said.

Earlier in the day, Canadian Jeff Kitura, of Langley, B.C., won silver in the B division, behind Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands.
For Makowsky, the sudden glare from the spotlight Saturday was a bit unusual for a skater who is sometimes overshadowed by the bigger names on the Canadian team.

But Makowsky will take any light he can get this weekend. Writing on his website before the race, he said the one unsettling aspect of his trip to Norway is how early the sun sets - often by mid afternoon - due to the high northern latitude.

So how has he been coping with the overdose of darkness? "I've basically been turning on the lights and going out for walks," Makowsky said after the race.